Another long sleep. Breakfast of a couple Costa Rican tipico meals along with coffee and a short glass of cas juice. Morning cloud to shield us from the suns rays and we were off to the beach again. Repeating yesterdays exercise, we were not expecting much in the way of better photos since the greyness tends to detract from the stunning light sand beach. We still trudged on though, just in case we could snap a decent photo or two.

Today we checked the tides. Apparently high tide coming in 6 inches higher than yesterday and around 1:30PM, so if we were going to minimize the level of soakedness…an early start was better. 10AM and we were at the beach. Same spot as yesterday, just a little more damp. Rain could be seen in the distance but with us already in bathing suits, a little extra dampness wasn’t going to hurt.

I plowed my way into the surf. Floated around a little with the current taking me out, then in, and out, and in. The light rain eventually came and sprinkled us a little with some fresh water, but then passed leaving holes in the sky for sun to break through. Melanie splashed around a little, then retreated to the trees for shelter and shade…plus a few pictures.

I was able to convince her to join me in the low surf. As she waded out to join me though, the retreating waves tended to suck her feet out. Combine that with the waves crashing in on shore and soon she was down on her knees. Trying to collect herself and get back on her feet, another small wave crashed down on her. The loose sand is not easy to get any kind of footing on and with the water racing back down the beach she was starting to get a little nervous. I attempted to float in to help, only to assist in knocking her over. Panicked and wet, she was not a happy camper and needed a moment to collect herself. Our day at the beach was coming to a close quick. The ocean is a powerful beast. You can play in it, you can’t fight it though. I could float out there for hours in the surf, racing in the waves and get washed out with the outgoing water. Sure I lose focus once in a while and might get tossed around like a rag doll filling my mouth and shorts with sand…but float your way back up to the top and spit out that sand to continue enjoying the turbulence. Panicking is where the trouble starts.

We headed back for some lunch. The greyness was not letting up and the incoming tide was going to make that freshwater crossing tougher with each passing hour. Only 2 feet deep for us today on the way back, so not so bad. We wandered past all the little soda restaurants and back up to our place for a dip in the pool and bite to eat afterwards.

I got chatting with a guy from Florida. Somehow he was able to create his own little sabbatical from life. Currently residing in the little town of Flagler Beach (we stopped there for coffee and ice cream on our road trip), he now has 5 weeks away from both work and wife for his own trip in Costa Rica. A week here in the tiny place of Brasilito and 4 weeks at Playa Samara, where he rents a furnished room in a place for 600USD for the month. Sounds a bit high, but this is Costa Rica. As we were chatting with him in the pool, our Swiss acquaintances from a week ago in San Juan del Sur arrived to check in. Yay! Familiar faces.

Our Swiss friends checked in and braved the high tides, overbearing sun, and rain. We relaxed for the afternoon, after a couple tacos and a smoothie. The restaurant here is expensive, but breakfast and lunch they serve until 5PM. Our strategy today was to dine at 4:30, ordering from the lunch menu…then add a couple happy hour drinks which are served until 6…and maybe add the 2 for 1 desserts a little later in the evening.

We ate. We chatted with they Flagler Beach guy. The Swiss couple left, then came back for an expensive dinner. We hung out for a few hours by the looks of it because eventually the waiter had to come over and ask us to close out our bills. It was 4+ hours we were eating, drinking, and chatting and apparently time to wrap things up for the night. Friday, shoulder season…not enough business to keep the kitchen open so we shut the place down.

Now done for the night. We have a very short travel day tomorrow. Maybe we can convince the Swiss couple to give us a ride if we toss a couple thousand colones their way.