Traveling While Introverted

From Monteverde, we headed northwest to the town of Tamarindo. After spending time in the mountains, we were curious to visit the coast. Yahm was especially excited to experience the Pacific Ocean in all its warm glory. Growing up in Los Angeles, the Pacific hovers in the 58-68° F (13-16° C) range, but along Costa Rica’s shores, the temperatures reach 79-84° F (25-30° C). It didn’t take long after we arrived to take a walk through town, take off our sandals, and walk on the shore. The water is definitely warm and the sand is soft, but Tamarindo Beach waters are murky and a bit gross. Not polluted per se, but not nearly as crystal clear as, say, the Gulf of Mexico. (Long live Gulf Shores, Alabama!) Also, since Tamarindo is extra touristy, horses used for beach horseback riding were everywhere so the smell of horse poop competed with the salty sea air. (The horses had diapers, but poop stinks no matter what.)

Speaking of tourists: the city of Tamarindo is full of them. Besides that, Tamarindo and neighboring Playa Langosta, have attracted a large population of American and European expats. So much so that as we drive around, we saw billboards in English and French for luxury condos and most restaurants had names in English, rather than Spanish. Even though we already knew about the watering down of Tico culture from our time in Monteverde, Tamarindo exists on another level. We quickly decided that we would not be visiting downtown very often.

Our accommodations, on the other hand, are wonderful. For the first few days in the Tamarindo area we debated between a hotel right on the beach or a bungalow with a shared, outdoor kitchen. Yahm wanted the hotel at first so that she could be close to the ocean, but then thought better of it because of the night sounds. It has been very rare for us to find quiet spaces to sleep at night. Sometimes it’s because there are too many tuk-tuks; sometimes it takes us a few nights to get used to the animal noises. The last thing either one of us wanted was to be in town and be woken up by revelers and street traffic.

Boy oh boy was choosing the bungalow the right idea. For the length of our stay, it was just us and the resident handyman, Željko. Originally from Croatia, he has been living in Costa Rica for five years, though he dreams of saving enough money to live in the Peruvian Amazon by himself. The real stars of the bungalow, of course, were Aura and Georgio. Aura was a shy tub of a dog who only came out of her hiding place for food. She’s also the namesake of the place: Aura Bungalow. Georgio, on the other hand, was friendly and his favorite past time is licking frogs to get high. (No joke.) The compound is tucked away from the main road and downtown, so we finally had some peace and quiet, except for the one time Yahm got stung by a bee while making dinner. (She’s fine. No allergies to bee stings, just gluten & dairy.) Other than that, 10/10.

Our next temporary home is actually a home and pet sitting gig! One of the ways we are hoping to extend our trip (and save money) is to house & pet sit for people through Trusted Housesitters. (If you click on that link and sign up, we get 2 free months on the site. So, if you’re interested, help us out.) We’re also looking for farm/co-op-type of opportunities. If you know of any, please let us know!

The house itself is situated just north of Tamarindo, near the town of Matapalo. Unlike Tamarindo, this is an area where Ticos really live. There are cow pastures, lots of chickens, stray dogs, and a general quiet, homey feeling. Here, we’ve had opportunities to use our Spanish, like when we asked the neighbor where we can make a copy of the spare key. (The original broke in half in the lock. Luckily, we were able to get both pieces out without a locksmith. Talk about a stressful first day of house sitting.) We have a whole little home to ourselves, with a kitchen, A/C, hot water (a luxury in CR!), a yard and 2 hammocks. Best of all, we get to watch three doggos.

Nano and Pachaco are brothers and the only way to tell them apart is by looking at their collars. Yet, living with them for a week we’ve noticed differences in their personalities. Nano, the one with the brown collar, is quiet until it’s time for a walk and he gets the zoomies. When he sleeps or rests, he always sticks out his tongue, which is hard not to gush over. Pachaco, the one with the blue collar, has a little man-cave he hides in, which Yahm knocks on to get him to go for walks. When he feels like it, he loves to play fetch and he’s always looking for a meal even when he’s eaten. Pachaco also gets jealous if the other dogs get more pets than he does.

Then there’s Malo, a Great Dane. If you know anything about Great Danes, they’re huge and need a lot of affection. When Malo leans on us for pets, we have to brace ourselves because he’s so big. He’s the oldest of the bunch and has a wise, old man energy that’s hard not to find charming. Obviously because he’s so big, Adam is in charge of taking him for his walks.

House and pet sitting has given us a great opportunity to experience a little bit of what it’s like to live in Costa Rica, at least in the Tamarindo area. We go to the grocery store, occasionally go to events like the Tamarindo Night Market, or out to eat at a soda (the Tico term for a traditional food stand/restaurant), but most of the time we’re home with the dogs. It’s also oppressively hot during the day, so siestas are very tempting, especially to Yahm. While we’re here, we plan on exploring more of the area before it’s time to move on to visit some national parks. So stay tuned for more experiences and dog photos. Read about our visit to the Tamarindo Estuary in Adam’s corner and tasting Costa Rican fruit in Yahm’s corner.

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