A Day at the Beach!

After two years of living in Costa Rica and being kept very busy with the designing and redesigning our house to fit our budget and learning about growing coffee, we finally were able to spend a day at the beach thanks to our friends Guy and Maryse.  They promised that they knew of a wonderful beach just before Jaco and we needed to take a trip!!  On the way we passed over the Tarcoles River and had to stop to see the Crocks.  This one particular spot is know for a large population and we were not disappointed.  Fortunately, we were viewing them from a very high bridge!  They were huge and many and we hoped they didn't know the beach we were heading to not far away!

Having 4 wheel drive we drove and Maryse packed a feast including Pina Coladas, wine, salad and sandwiches.  Maryse and Guy lived in the U.S. for 30 years but are French. Since meeting them, we have enjoyed some wonderful French cuisine thanks to Maryse and her generous offers to feed us.

Don & Guy enjoying their Pina Coladas and the spectacular beach.  The road in is a bit rough but that also makes for a very private location with few other sunbathers.  Because of high tide we were able to sit under the wonderful shade just off the shore and relax, eat and chat.  There were waves just big enough for body surfing and it was delightful to float and surf in perfect temperatures.

We had a natural clothes rack along with our natural shade and could not have asked for anything better.  The water was clean and warm!  The beach was sandy and clean and the temperature perfect!  It was a beautiful day although, not without the usual "unusual experience."  Maryse & Guy have a GPS which we plugged into our old car to help us navigate as Costa Rica is known for no road signs!  Shortly after getting on the road, we noticed that our electric windows stopped working and all were down except for Guy's.  That was fine with us as on the way down it became warmer and the breeze was refreshing.  However, upon arriving we realized that we could not lock our car!!  Surprise, there was a man there parking cars (about 5 at this point) and he said he would keep a close watch on our car!  Feeling o.k. with this to some extent, we took everything of value out of the car to the beach with us and decided to worry about the problem later!  

We set up our blanket and this was the view of our canopy.  

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and the picnic was to die for.  We did a little shell and coral hunting, lots of swimming and eating and just enjoyed the day with our friends.  As we are in the rainy season, the inevitable happened--it started thundering and lightening and threatening rain.  Don & Guy were down the beach exploring one of the coves as the tide had receded.  Maryse and I were wondering where to go to avoid the lightening--not under a tree, not in the water.....

Don & Guy finally returned and we packed up and ran to the car in a downpour!  Oh, yes, remember the problem with the car--the windows are down!!  Yes, the windows were still down and the rain was pouring in but with no option, we all got in and headed home.  Guy, who had no fresh air on the way down was thrilled not to be drenched with rain like the rest of us on the way home.  Maryse and I tried hanging towels up to lessen the damage which helped some.  About half way home, we stopped at a gas station and were able to have the problem of our windows fixed.  A smart young man came up with just the right fuse and we were on the road again!   All in all it was a great day and the little window problem only made it more memorable.  Looking forward to our next visit--soon I hope!!