Playa Samara

I arrived in Samara as it was getting dark. The bus ride from San Jose was loooonnng, but air-conditioned!

I didn't walk long until I found El Hotel Ancla ("anchor" en Engles). It's 10,000 colones per night, or about 17 bucks. Unfortunately, I'm kind of a dummard and I don't know my PIN for my credit card, so I have to pay with credit card everywhere. Ancla didn't take cards, but luckily they let me run mine at the restaurant here. (They don't usually do that.)

I put my things down, checked my email and then went to the beach! It was dark but the sand felt good between my toes so I didn't care. I found a restaurant and had a huge pina colada and salad with tuna, cucumbers, heart of palm, tomatoes, etc. Fui muy bueno. I ended up meeting a guy on the beach who asked if I wanted to go get a drink. After I made sure he knew I had a boyfriend and had absolutely no chance, I went to the bar with him. I kicked his butt at four games of pool and then walked home.

Yesterday was fun. I saw a guy with a small motor boat on the beach who was giving tours, so he took me out snorkling. I saw some really cool fishies. Big ones, small ones, yellow and black ones, blue ones, etc. I also got to hold a blue starfish and big snail. Then, we went to the other side of the island and saw a turtle. It had fishing line all around it's flippers and body, so I helped my guide cut it all off and set the turtle free! Then, we swam to this little beach on the island. There were hundreds of hermit crabs crawling around. It was all so pretty!

I came back and showered and then went to dinner. It was REALLY, REALLY good, and I wish I had taken a photo. Twas a huge plate of rice with seafood - crab, lobster, shrimp, octopus, etc. mmm Fui muy rica.

This morning, I got up early. The snorkel guide, Pablo, invited me to go fishing with him and a tourist from Holland, Anthony. We went out past the island and trolled for tuna. It was a three hour trip, and it wasn't until the very end that the Hollander caught one lonely black tuna. But, the ride was beautiful, and I saw several turtles and a group of dolphins in the water right beside the small boat. Then Pablo cooked the fish for us. It was really good. He cooked it with onions, garlic, oregano, and lime juice. We ate it with tortillas and jalapenos. MMM!

I came home and laid on the beach for a bit, then went to the computer place and now I'm eating chicken in sauce with strawberries, bananas, mangos, and rice. MMM. I heart Costa Rican food.

The restaurant is right on the beach and is playing American music. It's dark and I can hear the waves crashing on the beach.

There was a meteor shower last night, so I saw a billion stars falling from the sky! Did I ever mention that I heart Costa Rica?!