honeymoon volume dos - tamarindo

SO, after a two night Phish run, three hours of sleep, a train, two planes, and a taxi, we ended up in Paradise. Tamarindo, Guanacaste, Costa RIca. This area is on the northern Pacific side of the country, and is a popular destination for surfers.

We opted for an all-inclusive resort we discovered through Travel & Leisure, Barcelo Langosta Beach, which is located on Playa Langosta (Lobster Beach.) We thought that, although immersing ourselves in the culture of another country may sound romantic, what we both we really in need of was a week of not having to worry about where our next meal was going to be, and always having to pull out our wallets (well, Dirk's wallet) for drinks. So an all-inclusive it was. This one is on an ecological preserve, so there was tons of lush tropical flora.
And the local beer, Imperial, was very refreshing.
We spent a lot of time in the pool.

And walking along the beach.

At night there was entertainment in an open-air ampitheater. This band would kind of walk around the resort and play at different locations throughout the day. The lead singer resembled a Latino version of Dirk's old room-mate and guitarist in his band, John Hugunin. So we nicknamed Costa Rican John, Juan Hugunin.
The food was so delicious, especially this red snapper. At first bite, I thought Dirk had tricked me and gotten me chicken and tried to pass it off as fish (I DO eat fish on occasion, when in Costa Rica, for instance). It kind of freaked me out a little.
Dirk ate octopus and I ate clams.
We lost five dollars worth of quarters in the casino.
The tide along the coast was crazy. In the morning, you could walk forever, tons of beautiful sandy beaches.
And lots and lots of amazing seashells.
And then, upon returning to the beach for an afternoon stroll, the water would be lapping at the edges of the forest! I've never experienced such a dramatic tide!
There were lizards running around all over the place. They weren't afraid of anything.
It was so very BLUE there! Aside from a trip to Hawaii, this is my first experience with a tropical Pacific ocean. I'm familiar with the northern California Pacific, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic. Each have completely opposite personalities.

The first day we were there, being sleep-deprived, exhausted, and running on pure adrenaline and excitement about being on vacation, we walked along the beach and were fascinated by all of the shells. So we gathered our favorites and were on our way back to our room when we got stopped by a guard. Apparently, the beaches in Costa Rica are protected and you are not allowed to take shells from them. This was ironic because the beach vendors with their tables set up right behind us were selling necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and pendants, all made out of (can you guess?)....seashells :)
It was super difficult keeping my lens from fogging up from the humidity, and in some instances, I actually LIKED the effect. This flower was on a bush on our deck.
I have one more honeymoon post slated for later this week. We didn't just lay around and read and drink the whole time, believe it or not (although I did read 4.5 books on this trip!) We actually ventured out into Costa Rica on some adventures. Stay tuned.