March 31. After a good lunch and slow cup of coffee at the Blue Maxx in Tamarindo, we head back to Las Tortugas for the chore of packing (how did we accumulate so much!) Jonathan went for one last swim in the turtle-shaped pool. Las Tortugas had pretty well cleared out on Saturday and it is really quiet this  morning. I actually got to relax in a hammock under a thatched roof open-air pavilion. It was wonderful!! Peaceful. 

The one thing I don't like about this place is the very thing that makes it so special--though it is situated immediately adjacent to the beach, you cannot see the surf from the rooms or the pool area except in small breaches in the vegetation which is planted to shield the turtles from manmade lights. In Oregon as with many places in the world, it is common for hotels to literally be right up to the edge of the beach. There, of course, people long ago snatched the beach from the natural wildlife inhabitants.

I love the late checkout time--2:00--which seems to be the norm for Costa Rica. it provides for a sweet lingering departure. As my family is packing up the car, I walked the 100 feet to the threshold of the beach for a few minutes alone to soak it all in one last time and to take one last mental photograph of Playa Grande. This is a place where I could linger--320 days of sunshine per year, refreshing breezes off the ocean, the sound of the surf and birds, the smell of salt-water in the air, no traffic noise, where a swim in the ocean is like a warm spa, and thanks to Louis Wilson, limited development for miles. 

We bid goodbye to Playa Grande about 2:30 and retraced our route back through Liberia. It's a 45-minute trip that takes us 1-1/2 hours because of the teeth-jarring washboard roads. We got behind a brahma drive in a little town (village) of El Llano, just outside the town of Portegolpe, as they are being herded down the road--nothing special, but it's the flavor for this area. I emailed this photo to Dave Mills who publishes "The Howler", a Tamarindo newspaper (UPDATE--it's now online) who was able to tell me exactly where it was taken. He also said that the restaurant in the photo closed down not long after we were there which was too bad because they had really good 'bocas'.

Once back in Liberia we stopped for gas and our son is hungry for pizza so we again visit the Pizza Hut van. Since there was no place to sit, we  ate in the car parked along a side street. It was hot sitting in the car without the air conditioning running, trying to balance a large hot pizza box and eat at the same time! Little did we know that we  were only a short distance from a great restaurant. I learned sometime after returning home and reading another travelogue that just 1/2 block north of where we sat was El Bramadero whose specialty is brahma steak. It's a small hotel and restaurant on the northeast corner of the Pan American highway and  the road west to the beaches. The report said the steak (brahma) was wonderful.  (UPDATE -- on our trip in 2001, we stopped on the way to the northern beaches and had a succulent, delicious steak that was better than the reports I'd read. An open air restaurant, it is quite pleasant and reasonable, around $8 US a piece for a excellent, choice cut, salad and vegetable. As we were leaving, I noticed a truck parked right in front of the restaurant -- full of brahmas!)

Just south of Liberia we stopped by Las Espuelas Hotel again so that I could pick up some large Guanacaste seed pods which were freshly fallen from a huge tree and littered the parking lot.  The seed pods are shiny, beautiful and have an intriguing smell. They will look great in some dried flower arrangements.

Back on the very-poorly marked road again, heading for Nuevo Arenal, we passed La Hacienda de la Pacifica Hotel which I had read about in a travel guide. It is a working ranch on the Pan American highway near Caņas adjacent to the Corobici River. Since it was late afternoon, I thought we should stop there for the night. But Dean had called ahead to Chalet Nicholas and they were expecting us, so on we press. We would like to stay here next time for sure. (UPDATE -- we stopped here in August 2001 and think we were told that it is no longer a hotel, but an ecological educational center open only to those doing research and studies. However the restaurant was open to all. This is the only place where we were almost eaten alive by mosquitoes.) 

I had also seen a program on the travel channel about a lady who lives near La Hacienda de la Pacifica that has a big cat rescue mission, taking in injured and orphaned or illegally trapped cats. I was hoping to visit here also to meet her and see what she is doing. (UPDATE -- In August 2001 we stopped here to find a  notice posted on the small gift shop that Lily Bodmer de Hagnaeur had passed away just a few months earlier. Her mission is being carried on by those who worked with her. They operate on donations.)

The turnoff at Caņas was not well marked and we missed it. After crossing a large river we figured we went too far and turned around. We stopped to asked directions at what just happened to be the correct turnoff.

We are now heading up the mountains toward Tilaran. This is rolling hills country, fields not trees, very green after the brown dust of the Guanacaste Province. The small town of Tilaran sits on a hillside and families are strolling together along the sidewalks, or leaning on fences drinking Coca Cola watching the tourists drive by. The screen-less wide-open doors and windows tell me that bugs must not be a problem here either (or it's a cultural thing?) It's starting to get dark and we have a ways to go so there is no time to stop and soak in the culture. 

As we approach the Continental Divide we see a line of tall thin windmills stretching for miles.  The constant wind in this area makes Lake Arenal one of the top windsurfing  destinations in the world and supplies much of the electricity needs of the central valley. This is a large, manmade lake created in the 40's for hydroelectric purposes. The original town of Arenal lies at the bottom. Property owners whose land was flooded to make the lake were given 15 hectares on higher ground.

Staying on the road gets tough as daylight dwindles. As we descend toward Lake Arenal, we can make out the shoreline as lights begin to come on. Several large hotels are easy to spot as we head north around the end of the lake then east. It is a narrow 2-lane road, again not well-marked. The directions we have to Chalet Nicholas are probably okay for a local or someone familiar to the area, but we have to stop and ask directions. Turns out we passed it up a mile back. I have the newspaper article from the Tico Times with a photo of the driveway entry covered with bougainvillea, but it was of no help in the darkness. Dean finally spotted a small sign and we arrived about 8 pm and were welcomed by our hosts, New Yorkers Cathy and John Nicholas.