neo-knights errant

Hi Nomads!
Please join me as i tell the tales of Nobody's Nomad...part I for those of you who may be finding your path leading to Costa Rica.
I lived in this beautiful place for two years quite recently. A short period of that time i lived in the capital San Jose: bustling,somewhat seedy, but with some great secret niches...but that's a different story.

So for the rest of the time i chose well. I came upon Playa Samara by chance through a friend...and stayed! At first in one of many 'Cabina' type hotels.. not really cheap about $300 a month, a basic room and bathroom. Prices range between $8 and $50 and of course up to as much you would choose to spend for a house on the lush rain forest hills, overlooking a long crescent shaped beach and inlet, on a peninsula named Guanacaste, facing the Pacific. I quickly got to know people and the town, though very small, is very cosmopolitan, and of course very local..a nice mix. With a couple new friends i was able to find a longer-term rental right on the beach and an only two minute saunter to the town center. The town is basically two main roads, one along the beach and one parallel leading north and south and two joining them to make a square with two or three lanes inside sprinkled with houses and little hotels.Our place was incredible 4 bedrooms with wc/shower a nice kitchen- lounge, and of course a big front terrace where we spent most time at home..ahh the constant rushing of the surf and a refreshing breeze in the humid heat. I paid only $150 a month for my liitle room..very do'able. The best bar in my opinion is called Bar Arriba on 'main street' where most shops and restaraunts are. An upstairs open-air type place Arriba is the rockin' international bar with students from the massage school, or the language schools, local and travelling surfers, folks on holiday, and of course your ex-pats of which an interesting, funny mix of characters abound. Live music or Dj's you also find on the beach nightlife front with a choice of beach cafe's, a club for late night, and the occasional event- not to mention a reggae dancefloor on weekends.
Most play in the day, with of course one of, if not the nicest beach in the country. Oh, this place is not too widely known but is getting there, so don't miss out! Long sand walks South past a fisher quarter named Mata Palo (there you will find Casa Brian, a great little hostal) and to the next beach town of Carillo.. rarely peopled except during local holiday's you can also watch a couple mean looking crocs at the little bridge. Northwards is the place to catch some waves a little more challenging than Samara at Playa Buena Vista. Mel Gibson has a very private piece of the earth a little further north too! I loved wandering around inland as well, hiking around in the jungle hills and into thick ravines if you wish. Even in town you'll see sometimes quite large Iguanas, and liitle communities of howler monkeys (whom occasionaly throw poop), shake your clothes inland for scorpions, and see why Ornithologists are Ornithologists. The tiny 'Isla Chora' is a hefty yet rewarding swim..or wait for low tide and walk to the south point for an easier crossing..beware of rocks. One of my faves is a fabulous set of waterfalls inland near a town called Belen... not well known so you may have to investigate. A great day out, you should bring a picnic and relax in the cooler pools forming atop the falls or like me dive and cannonball over the falls, which are not so high into the river ( if you drop in a cannonball directly downward you can go inside, behind the cascade, watch the current!). Be sure to avoid the really dry season 'cause there are no falls, and be prepared to hike a little over rocks along the banks to get there..wear shoes to avoid the tiny fire ants stings!
If you have heard of the 'blue zones' this region is supposed to be one. Playa Samara is a place you will fall in love with, great to relax, live, a perfect spot for an artist or writer retreat, or anyone who wishes to experience the true magic of the tropics.

This being my first blog... i will attempt to tell the tales of my travels, observations and philosophies as a modern 'Knight errant' in the posts to come and to hopefully become acquainted with other such nomads on my ongoing quest- a quest that was often not apparent by Knights errant of history, nontheless noteworthy. This forum seems an appropriate and perhaps effective canvas on which to paint pictures in words and descriptions of people, places, and events that have shaped me and supplied me with encounters in which to to reflect upon....will be looking for other nomadics writings as well! to be continued...