Being right on the beach has it’s benefits. The sun rises early and so Kyle and Andrew head out to the beach before 6am, as the sun rises. The other 2 join them as they they wake up a little later. The surf is high so they have to stay out of the water and play in the black sand. There was lots to see too. It was cool to watch the surfers out there first thing in the morning catching the waves and we saw fish jumping out of the ocean and a Pelican eyeing it’s prey.
Playing on the surf
The tide was coming up so I didn’t feel comfortable having the kids play by the water so they came up and built sand castles which got washed away not so long after…
Building Sand Castles
We were thinking of heading back to get some breakfast when Kyle something tiny moving in the sand. I told him it looked like a piece of poop in the sand but lo and behold, it was a baby turtle coming out of the sand.
I only got one picture of it and took tons of video. Will post it soon.
Our first baby turtle
What treat for everyone, we watched him climb out of the hole, and move towards the ocean.
Baby Turtle at Andrew's foot
Usually there are hundreds of egss which hatch but there was only one from the hole. They have so many issues with poachers and dogs and people not not seeing them and walking on them. Never would I have imagined that I would have seen that in person!
Check out was at noon, so we hung around and the kids played by the pool till then. Andrew, Kyle and I went for a walk along the beach and saw lots of hermit crabs, crabs that hand around the rocks.
Surf at the rocks
We saw crabs, quartz on the rocks and hermit crabs
The plan was to have lunch, head north and find a place to stay for another night. Of course plans change. We drove through Jaco and saw the beach and yes everyone wanted to go play in the surf. The seas were not as rough so we ended up staying there for over an hour.
Playing on the beach at Jaco
I had to drag them off the beach, we had to get on the road and have lunch, plus with the sun setting so early, we try not to get off the road by 5pm. Hasn’t happened yet. Yesterday we drove in the rain and dark to Playa Hermosa, it seems like that is what is going to happen again today. Jaco is a busy surf town and the kids decided to eat in the next town. So we drove into Tarcoles and stopped in for a Pizza at the corner store. Everyone enjoyed it, either because they were so hungry or it was really good.
Pizza in Costa Rica
While driving out of town, we missed the turn and drove down a road that seemed to be going nowhere, and seemed like a really nice road for that area so we followed it. At the end of the road was a river where they do river crocodile cruises. Lucky for us while we were there, we saw 2 crocodiles across the bank on the river so we didn’t have to take a tour, plus we didn’t have the time.
Back on the road again, we drive by Puntarenas, the port town.
Container ships in Puntarenas
And drive into the night with the rain again…. They did say something about it being the rainy season. We finally decide to stop in a small town of Santa Cruz. We find a hotel room with 5 beds and a bathroom. I didn’t feel comfortable so we went to a bigger hotel with a pool and a gated compound. In hind sight, I think the first one which was cheaper would have been fine. It is just that it was dark outside and we were tired. By this time, Andrew had already taken a nap. That is what happens when you get up at 6am.
Entrance to hotel in Santa Cruz
So we settle in for the night till our next adventure tomorrow.