Sisters Astray

Please note that Kelly is the author of this post, even though it is posted under Kim’s name.  Internet access DRAMA!

Oh Dominical.  What a great little beach town!  We said goodbye to our  friends at Vista Serena to head south to Dominical.   After a pretty painless hour and a half bus ride, we reached the Antorchas hostel, our home for the next 5 days where we waited for Yesenia and Andres.   She is friends with the owners and helped us get a hell of a deal…our room was $8/pp/night with a private bath.   Other than the thick stench of mold in the room, it was a pretty good set up since we only showered and slept in there so the smell wasn’t too big of a deal.  Plus, the beach was literally 75 yards from our door.   Awesome.

Outside of Antorchas

Playa Dominical is 25 km of open, amazing beach that is ideal for experienced surfers.   The water is crystal blue and the waves are huge!   It’s absolutely beautiful.   I’d also like to mention that we are so happy to be traveling in the low season.   There are so few people around, it’s really nice. The town itself is two streets; one lining the beach with a few sodas, bars and restaurants  and supermarkets on the other.   There are no more than 200 or so people living here.  Yeah…

The streets of Dominical...sorry, this one got cut off.

Dominical beach around sunset

Kim on the beach

We ended up running into a couple from Spain (Viva Espana!), Alan and Silvia, that we had met in Monteverde.  They stayed at Antorches too and we all spent the evening hanging out at the hostel in the great little seating area equipped with hammocks, TV, tables and chairs.  Christian, the crazy DJ/artist from Ibiza joined us as well.

The next morning, Kim and I went for a long walk on the beach.   The beach is so incredible in the morning.   Wow.   We then spent the day with Yesenia and Andres in Uvita, another beach town, even tinier than Dominical and about 15 minutes south.   We went to the marine park, Marina Ballenas, and enjoyed the empty beach.   Literally, other than one other family, we were the only ones on there.

On the beach in Marina Ballenas

Kelly and Yesenia

I watched our things while Yesenia took Kim down a spot where two beaches collide and the waves break up against each other.  From a plane view, it looks just like a whale’s tail.   When the tide is low, you can walk down the length of the tail.   So cool!  We then went back to the hostel that night for some dinner and wine.

The next day, we all went back to the marine park for a whale watching tour for around $20, which included an hour or so of snorkeling, and another 2 hours of riding around and looking at whales, huge sea turtles and all the deserted beaches with rocks and caves.  They also gave us yummy pineapple, watermelon, and fresh coconut!   It was a fantastic day.

Us and Andres enjoying our fresh coconut on the boat

Sea Turtles!!

The following day, it poured rain and we just hung around at the hostel.  I spent some time with my new friend, Roberto, a local Tico that works as a tour guide in Corcovado National Park on the southern coast.   He knew so much about wildlife, surfing and everything Costa Rican.   Good times.

Roberto!

The day after was perfect for heading out to see a waterfall that everyone kept telling us about.  What an adventure…heh.   Again, the directions to anywhere in Costa Rica are crazy.   So after passing the waterfall by about 2 miles on a tiny gravel road uphill, Alan and Silvia got their rental car stuck in a small ditch!   Luckily we were near a house where a guy from New York was staying with his nice big Four Runner.   He had got stuck the day before and was more than happy to help us out.

Stuck Car

After a few tries of some necessary pulling and pushing on our part, the car was out with no damage.   He then took us back to the house for some water, a great view of the ocean and then proceeded to take us down to the where the waterfall was.   All in all, it was worth the trouble.   The waterfall was beautiful.   After some climbing and swimming and my failed attempt at the rope swing, we headed back home for lunch and a relaxing evening.

Our reward after the car fiasco

At the waterfall

Kim busted it on the rocks a couple of times, but finally got there...

Kim and I both really loved Dominical.   The morning walks, the numerous trips to the beach to watch the surfers, the sunset and the waves…it was perfect.  After some yoga on the beach for me and a quick dip for Kim, we decided to go ahead and make our way back to San Jose.   We could have spent a few more days there, but our Spanish friends had to leave.   They offered us a ride in their car (Woohoo! No bus ride!) back up to Manuel Antonio to crash at Vista Serena for a couple more days before we headed back to Yesenia’s.   We got to see a few of our friends from the previous week and also met an Australian couple who were 6 months into their around the world trip.   We’ll be hanging with them in our  upgraded private room. So nice!   Alex was going to have to split us up to make room for others, but instead he set us up for the same price in a two room “suite” with living room, TV, kitchen and private balcony with the Aussies.  Can we say good karma?

Sunset in Dominical

We fly out of San Jose on Thursday, the 15th to our next stop, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA! Stay tuned for a Costa Rica wrap up! PURA VIDA!