Our second adventure and first 3-day weekend sought to check out Pacific town of Tamarindo, which we were told had some of the nicest beaches and surf spots on that side of the country. The second school was over Thursday 8 of us hopped in a bus and embarked. Costa Rica’s famously efficient highways turned our 4 hour trip into a 6 hour crawl, but we still arrived at a decent time. The owner of our rental this weekend gave us the actual location of the house instead of the riddle of directions we had last weekend, so it was already off to a great start. The first night was more relaxed, we hung out by the pool and got to know each other better. As a sophomore I feel like I had such little interaction with freshmen during the traditional school year, so it was cool to hear some of the freshmen’s stories. I am a bit jealous that they didn’t have to experience the horrors of East Campus during the height of the pandemic and the beloved C-Team.
We started our Friday with an appointment at Waffle Monkey, where Kyle got his waffle prescription. Afterwards we walked out onto the beach and got some sun. The Tamarindo beaches lived up to the hype, there was plenty to do right on the beach and enough space to where it didn’t feel too crowded. Palm trees lined the beach, it sort of felt like I was inside a postcard. We came back, cleaned up and went out for happy hour drinks and dinner. Our waiter Marcos was very friendly and even took a shot with the table. He recommended that we go check out the Crazy Monkey that night as it’s the place to be on a Friday night in Tamarindo. Lots of monkey themed restaurants.
On Marcos suggestion the 8 of us went out to the Crazy Monkey, and we all had a blast. The dancefloor was this elevated terrace off the main strand, complete with loud music and lasers. We must have had too much fun considering I woke up the next morning without my debit card and Charlotte lost her phone. Whoever had my debit card also had a fun night – racking up $250 in charges, including a comically large $45 McDonald’s order. If my conversion rates are right, I think that’s an 80 piece McNugget.
That same morning we went kayaking and snorkeling, which I’m glad Amanda booked for us. I hadn’t gone kayaking since a field trip in the seventh grade but Stewart and I made short work of the voyage to the little island destination. We also went snorkeling once we were on the island, which an experience to be had despite the water being a little too murky to see anything. The island itself was a cool sight, one side of the island was covered in bleached seashells once left by the tide. The tour guides were also very friendly and were eager to help us get the hang of things.
Me and Stew
Afterwards, the starving eight of us stumbled into a pizza restaurant, which was vaguely reminiscent of the famed La Fabbrica. We went back home to clean up and then circled back onto the beach to see the sunset. The boats on the water as the sun went down made for a really beautiful scene. We had ourselves a nice little dinner at this cantina-style restaurant and came back home for a more relaxed night.
Sunsets in Tamarindo
Sunday morning, we decided to hit the beach one last time before heading back to San Jose. Charlotte was really eager to try some surfing so her, Abbey, and I rented a board to share. Charlotte has surfed some before, so Abbey and I took turns wiping out, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to a give a shot so I still had a lot of fun drinking saltwater. We hurried back to the house to shower, and we were on our way back home. All in all, Tamarindo had a lot to offer, and I think if I found myself in Costa Rica again I would have Tamarindo at the top of my list. Definitely my favorite of the 3-day weekends.
