Zapotal and Tamarindo beaches, Costa Rica
Back in Costa Rica our day started returning to beach activities after two days of enjoying the beauty of volcanoes and the lake in the mainland of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Our main destination in the morning: Zapotal beach. The Zodiac drivers did a great job, as usual, by landing us to this beautiful lonely beach. It was so unspoiled that we had the feeling we were discovering it. Rainbow-like colors welcomed us in a combination of amazing red cliffs, green cacti and trees, gray sand and bluish waters. Some of us took a walk through a tropical dry forest to look for wildlife while others decided to explore the water world and reefs in the last snorkeling opportunity. Some simply enjoyed swimming in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean or kayaking to exercise the upper body. Oh!, how could we ever forget the fun and excitement of riding on the banana boat; with groups of three people at the time, a zodiac pulled it and every single one had a blast… literally!
At noon we came back to the ship and the galley offered us an exquisite lunch up at the lounge, so we could enjoy the ocean view as we repositioned to Tamarindo Beach. By mid-afternoon the most adventurous signed up for a surfing lesson. Tamarindo is one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica for practicing this sport. Not only was it fun, but some of our traveling companions surprised us with their abilities. The rest explored or simply went shopping. By 5:00 we came back on board where Julio gave us a one of his entertaining and informative talks on Central American history covering 500 years of events in an hour. After leaving this active day behind, we are proceeding to look for more beauty and adventure tomorrow, when we get to Manuel Antonio National Park in the central Pacific region of the country.
Back in Costa Rica our day started returning to beach activities after two days of enjoying the beauty of volcanoes and the lake in the mainland of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Our main destination in the morning: Zapotal beach. The Zodiac drivers did a great job, as usual, by landing us to this beautiful lonely beach. It was so unspoiled that we had the feeling we were discovering it. Rainbow-like colors welcomed us in a combination of amazing red cliffs, green cacti and trees, gray sand and bluish waters. Some of us took a walk through a tropical dry forest to look for wildlife while others decided to explore the water world and reefs in the last snorkeling opportunity. Some simply enjoyed swimming in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean or kayaking to exercise the upper body. Oh!, how could we ever forget the fun and excitement of riding on the banana boat; with groups of three people at the time, a zodiac pulled it and every single one had a blast… literally!
At noon we came back to the ship and the galley offered us an exquisite lunch up at the lounge, so we could enjoy the ocean view as we repositioned to Tamarindo Beach. By mid-afternoon the most adventurous signed up for a surfing lesson. Tamarindo is one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica for practicing this sport. Not only was it fun, but some of our traveling companions surprised us with their abilities. The rest explored or simply went shopping. By 5:00 we came back on board where Julio gave us a one of his entertaining and informative talks on Central American history covering 500 years of events in an hour. After leaving this active day behind, we are proceeding to look for more beauty and adventure tomorrow, when we get to Manuel Antonio National Park in the central Pacific region of the country.
