Northern Costa Rica

We had a couple of really nice days hanging on the Western Nicoya Peninsula. We loved the chill beach vibe in Sámara and reveled in vegetarian food, the organic market, monkeys in the trees, and active friendly people. We ran on the beach at sunrise, did yoga at the peaceful beachside campground, played in the waves, and met plenty of friendly people. If only there was a hill big enough to fly off of here! We explored a few beaches in the area and Chomo had his first river fording experience (complete with howler monkey jungle noises and the threat of crocodiles). The roads on the Nicoya Peninsula are notoriously bad. We had heard great things about the far Southern beaches, but were repeatedly warned about the horrendous condition of the coastal road. We added the rest of the Nicoya to the list of “places to come back to with a 4x4 and time to kill” and enjoyed our sweet spot at Sámara. 

Unfortunately, Rok wasn’t feeling great—we decided to take him to the vet in Nicoya to have him checked out again. We thought he might have developed a secondary infection due to the imbalance after the course of antibiotics he was on for the doggie eczema. We found a very nice and very knowledgeable vet that examined him and decided to do a blood test to check for tick fever. We had been removing ticks every day from him in Dominical and he was showing some of the symptoms. The test came back positive, but in the early stages. He prescribed Rok antibiotics and steroids and instructed us to spray him down with Frontline and fumigate the van with pesticide to kill all the eggs that had probably been laid. Ick. We followed his instructions and laid siege against the ticks. We’re probably going to all get cancer from all the poison, but at least the ticks are gone….

We’re feeling pretty grateful that we caught the tick fever in its early stages, but also battling the guilt of putting Rok through this trauma. It has been amazing to have him along on this adventure, but it’s been hard at times. Costa Rica might have been too much for him. I occasionally wonder if he would choose to go back to a cold and happy winter in Montana if he had the opportunity. I think he’s had a good time seeing new places and having new experiences, but he’s a Montana/Wyoming dog at heart. Fortunately we’re on the way back North towards a cooler, drier climate—he seemed to love Guatemala as much as we do.

After a few days of beach relaxing, we pushed on North towards Bahia de Salinas. This windy bay in far Northern Costa Rica is one of the best places to get your kitesurf on in Central America. We hooked up with Kiteboard Costa Rica there. Nearby we found camping with Ulf, a friendly German with a little kitesurfing hostel and delicious restaurant at Playa Copal. 

In between sessions in the water, we had fresh milk from Ulf’s neighbor (straight from the cow to your coffee cup!) and spent some time with a little bum lamb from Ulf’s small flock of sheep.

We kitesurfed for a couple days—Cade learned last year and I took my second lesson with KCR and learned how to stand up and ride both ways. The place is really consistent—with strong cross-shore winds all day and the coldest ocean water we’ve felt in Costa Rica. We also checked out the deserted beaches at the end of the road, cooked a few good meals with local ingredients, and got two flat tires at the same time (seriously?!).

There’s a small group of expats living in Bahia Salinas, most of them live to Kitesurf. We enjoyed the laidback vibe with the kiting kooks and the lack of other tourists around the bay. 

At Playa Copal, we met Claudia and Frederico, a super friendly couple from Columbia that is travelling North to Alaska with their son Benji. They have a sweet setup—a Toyota Hilux with a popup roof tent. We’re just a little envious of their rig, but don’t tell Chomo. We ended up caravanning our way North with them to Nicaragua. 

It feels great to be back on the road in Chomo again. We’re starting to wonder if we’re meant to be nomadic people—or if we’re just very picky about the places we choose to spend extended periods of time. We love being on the road, staying each new location just long enough to meet a few people, see the scenery, and leave us wanting more as we look back in the rear view mirror. We can’t believe we’ve been on the road 3 ½ months already. We can only hope the journey North is as incredibly as the way South. It’s been an adventure from start to finish and we can’t wait to see what the next half brings!