Playa Hermosa

Totally recommend Playa Hermosa!! (Notice the two exclamation points for emphasis.)  I had a great time at Villa Huétares, a hotel with cheaper prices than the surrounding 4 and 5 star stays.  Cable T.V., A/C, pool, and jacuzzi.  Perfect!  The owners were also grea,  offering to take me to nearest ATM machine (dumb me who only had $4 didn't take out money in Liberia before where there had been several banks).  Miriam (my German traveling companion I had met in Liberia) and I also went with their family (including the owners' son (Daniel) and the American homestay girl Emily) to tour beaches on the day of my 22nd birthday.  We rode kayaks in the sea and horses on the beach (no, not naked).

That night, the owners drove Miriam, Emily, Daniel, and me to Playa Coco to hit up some discotecas.  The owner of one of the clubs started saying that he was Iranian and commented on the recent events in the Middle Eastern country.  Given my half-Persian side, I began declaring that, "ganamos la libertad"  ("we will win freedom"). The several free drinks I got for my birthday must have had something to do with my solo protest in the discoteca.  Following my political rampage, we rode quads to the next club that was still open at 4am and I finally got to dance to salsa music while trying to teach my new friend Chelsea the little that I knew (who might visit me in San Jose for rafting!). We got home at 6am and I slept till 10am, waking up to a fun snorkeling trip with Sea Life.  Mikaol, our tour guide, grabbed my hand and did his job guiding me and pointing out fish (my fin action wasn' quite there).  It was great fun, except for the whole swallowing saltwater part.

After an unexpectedly fun birthday weekend, I am currently in Nicoya drenching myself in anti-itch cream for my 20+ bug bites and getting over a sunburn without aloe (which was $8 at the nearby Supercompro. Eek!).  Fortunately, tomorrow is another beach day where there are turtles!  Yum! Turtle Soup.  

Just kidding!!!!   So funny, I know.

Peace out,

~Maryam