Playa Pelada

On the road again after having been settled for two months in Playa Blanca. We spent the morning finishing up our packing and organizing boards, baggage and a cooler for our travels. We went to the Negra AA meeting at nine to get the day off on the right foot, then went to the casa and loaded everything into the car. Gave our new furry compadres a final pet then hit the rugged washboard dirt track down to Playa Pelada.

PJ took the helm and rattled us through the little villages along the route: Venado, Lagarto, Marbella and Ostional. We bumped through washes and crossed narrow bridges until we finally reached the crossroad by Nosara and turned down the side road to Playa Pelada.

Ostional

Our AirBnB hosts were waiting for us and quickly got us settled into our little apartment where we are planning on hiding out from the craziness of Costa Rican spring break, Semana Santa. After toting our gear up the stairs, we set off for the beach a few blocks away.

Our trail popped us out near the northern point so we turned south and walked along the beach. Lots of people were out chilling on the beach and kicking off their holidays. Children were racing into the surf as families gathered in groups on the beach anticipating the coming sunset.

Olga’s Restaurant sits overlooking the busiest stretch of the beach. We pulled up some chairs and ordered casados then sat back for some people watching. A bunch of kids were playing a rough and tumble soccer match directly in front of us. The parking area was full of locals partying and socializing.

It’s a dog’s life

As the sun began to set, the few straggling pangas that were still out fishing began to come ashore. It was dark by the time our food finally arrived and the beach slowly was clearing out as people headed off to continue their celebration or go spend time with family.

We picked our way home along the dark beach. PJ had a little headlamp that we used as a flashlight to help us avoid the masses of hermit crabs that had taken over the sand. There were still several groups of people sitting here or there along the walk back. One lone gentleman was blowing out tunes on a saxophone in the darkness as laughter from a group of campers floated on the wind from the direction of their tents. We eventually found our trail home and got comfortable in the sweet little cabina among the trees.