Playa Samara - Part 1

I took my first trip outside San Jose this week to a little beach town called Samara. I went during the week from Tuesday through Friday morning. Because it was mid-week and its also the off season here, there weren't many people in town and some of the restaurants and hotels weren't even open. But I felt like it was time to get out of San Jose for a few days for a change and it was a nice peaceful place to go.



First I should say that most of the beaches in Costa Rica are vastly different than most of the beach destinations in the U.S. With a few exceptions, there are no high rise buildings or chain restaurants or boardwalks. They are pretty much like little villages with one main street and a bunch of little hotels scattered around a few side streets. The hotels usually double as restaurants and they are run by families who also live there. Here's a picture of the main street in Samara.

Just about every time when I went to a restaurant for some food I was the only person there. It was strange, I wasn't sure if the places were open because I didn't see anyone at the tables. But I can imagine this town gets pretty crowded during the high season, and from what I've heard, it does.

I enjoyed the tranquility of the place and the feeling that I almost had the whole place to myself. I'm going to do a separate post about some of my adventures in Samara.

JB