Costa Rica Trip #2-2: Catamaran and La Playa Fantasia

Tuesday began with breakfast at the Hacienda restaurant, located on the first floor of the hotel. Our room rate included the breakfast buffet, a great deal vs. the normal charge of ~$25 per person. It’s an excellent breakfast buffet with everything you could want: an omelette chef, tons of pastries, eggs, sausage, fruit, cereal, and assorted local breakfast specialties. Everything was delicious and a server kept our drinks full. We’ll definitely be returning here every morning to make the most of it.

Up next, Catamaran ride to a private beach! We’ve booked private yacht/catamaran/etc. excursions on several prior trips, and it always ends up being my highlight of the trip. We found an option through the hotel ahead of the trip and made the booking. Our pickup time was set for 8:45 meeting on the beach ahead of a 9am departure. Instructions were to meet on the beach, look for a blue flag.

We noticed a catamaran with a blue sail a few hundred yards off the beach. Was that the “blue flag?” Apparently it was. We also noticed it was attached to a smaller boat which soon headed our way for pick-up. We confirmed reservation information, and hopped on the boat with “Jesus”, pronounced like Jesus Christ.

Upon arrival, we had four crew members on the boat – the captain, and three “mates”, each with different responsibilities. The Catamaran was less fancy than the Yachts we’d taken in the past, but had a lot of space to walk around and several seating options in the back and front. They noted the nets in front could no longer be walked upon due to tears from a recent wild bachelor party they hosted. They served us welcome drinks, which were a local Costa Rican rum mixed in something that tasted like Sprite. The girls had a similar drinks, sans rum.

As soon as we exited the bay, the water became notably more and more choppy. While I was enjoying the chaos, the crew soon asked us to move to the back of the boat to help minimize the choppiness of the ride.

The conditions continued to worsen, and soon the captain came to explain that due to weather conditions, we would need to turn around and head back to shore. Disappointing but understandable given just how choppy the water was. We were given the option to rejoin the afternoon tour, which would be with a group instead of private. We decided that would be the best option, and headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we spent the rest of the morning at the hotel pool. Pretty standard fare, although Sage and I practiced volleyball for a bit which was great. We grabbed a quick bite, and before we knew it we were back at the muddy beach a bit before 1PM, waiting for pick-up.

We waited for almost twenty minutes, and eventually spotted another small group a bit closer to the hotel waiting. I walked up to greet them – it was two older couples, likely in their 50s. We all headed back down to wait, and soon Jesus was back for another pick-up.

When we approached “Playa Fantasia”, they anchored the boat a few hundred feet from shore. A couple crew members took the small boat to the beach for preparation, while they told us we could swim or even climb to the roof of the boat and jump into the water.

Sage, being the adventurous girl she is, immediately wanted to jump from the roof. So, her and I climbed the ladder up and walked to the back of the boat. I figured she’d need some support and encouragement once we were up there to actually jump, but NOPE. She was ready to go before I was. And we were off!

After the first jump, we convinced Vivienne to also give it a go. While she’s not the adventurer Sage is, she’s pretty brave for a six year old girl and headed up with me and we jumped off together. She even gave it a second go! Meanwhile Sage did at least five jumps and would have kept going all day had we not reined her in to take the smaller boat to the beach.

As we arrived on the private beach “Playa Fantasia”, there was quite an assortment of things to do. The crew from the boat had set up a bar, cleaned up lounge chairs, set up a volleyball net, had a grill going with food, and even had a banana boat to ride on. We set out our stuff on a chair and set out to explore the beach.

First off, I have never seen so many crabs in my life. There was a mix of slow-moving hermit crabs, lightning fast spotted crabs, and bright red crabs that would sprint around the beach and dive into holes. We had to continuously be on the lookout just to make sure we weren’t stepping on crabs. The hermit crabs would dive into their shell when they sensed any movement, which often time resulted in them rolling down the beach.

While all of the relaxing options were great, our inner explorers took charge. We decided to walk up the beach to see what there was to discover. We eventually reached a rocky area near the end of the beach.

Now before we get to the next part, a quick rewind. Sage loves animals. Ahead of our trip, she was doing all sorts of research on beaches and Costa Rica. Meghann estimated she probably watched ten hours of YouTube videos on tide pools. On our flight out, I asked her what she wanted to see most in Costa Rica, and she said she wanted to explore some tide pools. I told her I didn’t know if we’d find any, but we’d keep an eye out for opportunities. She reiterated that more than anything, she wanted to see and explore some tide pools. I agreed it sounded great, but I’ve never even seen a tide pool despite being to many beaches.

Somehow, perhaps by fate, the rocky area at the end of the beach was LOADED WITH TIDE POOLS! I couldn’t believe it. There were tons of small pools, each with different creatures and plants inhabiting. Sage quickly threw caution to the wind, and pushed onwards.

As we moved forward, it quickly became clear that actually getting in the tide pools was not a good idea. There were all sorts of animals I was unfamiliar with. Small fish hopped between pools, some with flipper/feet things that let them jump on land too. Some of the pools were filled with sea urchins. Sage and I discussed the animals and the risks. We agreed we would explore all the tide pools! But not step or reach into them as it could very quickly end our tide pool adventure. She really wanted to sit in the pools and touch the animals, but understood why she couldn’t.

Eventually, we reached the end of the pools and it was time to head back. Despite some fatigue from the climbing and bleeding feet from the sharp rocks, we were both ecstatic from the exciting experience. Sage was amazed by the tide pools, whereas I was amazed by the tide pools AND Sage’s passion and curiosity. One of those moments I’ll never forget.

As we approached the central beach area, Meghann texted me that food had been served and we should hurry back. The first thing she said to me was, “You should try the ceviche, it’s delicious!” Uhhhhhhhh.. one of the only things Meghann likes less than seafood is RAW seafood. Ceviche is a mix of raw fish, lime juice, onions, and garnish. She was the only one at the table so far and didn’t want to be rude, so gave it a go!

I tried the ceviche and had to agree, it was the best ceviche I’ve had in my life. So fresh and flavorful! The captain later told us he had caught the fish (mahi mahi) the day before, and they had prepared the dish fresh a as soon as we’d arrived at the beach. He even showed us photos of him with the giant fish on his phone.

We sat at the bench awaiting the main course and were joined by the four other travelers on the trip. We learned they all lived in Washington DC and were a mix of doctors and lawyers. One was a heart surgeon at John Hopkins University! They were all very friendly and we chatted for a while as we enjoyed the main course, which included chicken/steak kabobs, potatoes and salad.

After we finished the meal, we all decided to wander the beach with the remaining hour or so before we needed to head back. The sun began to set, basking the beach in beautiful light. Sage and Vivienne headed down to the beach to play in the waves, while Meghann and I did some more exploring.

Time flew by, and the crew called us to hop back in the smaller boat to take us back to the Catamaran. We soon found a huge advantage of ending up on the evening cruise instead of the morning cruise – the ride back to the hotel had the view of a a beautiful sunset. Vivienne asked if I would join her on the front of the boat, and I happily obliged.

We soon arrived back to the beach, as the amazing experience drew to a close. We washed off and headed back to the room to clean-up and head to dinner.

We decided to wander to the adjacent property, the Los Sueños Marina which had a shopping and dining area. We found a bar and grill called “The Hookup”, which served American Bar and Grille food. Dinner was good but relatively uneventful. We found a dessert shop adjacent where we bought some chocolate cake, a brownie, macaroons, and a lemon tart to bring back to the room.

We barely managed to finish our dessert before succinctly passing out! We were all exhausted from the incredible day and ready for a good night’s sleep!

I’ll cover today’s (Wednesday’s) and Thursday’s adventures in the next post, where we take an eco tour, try the resort’s statehouse, and head to Jaco for an afternoon four wheeler excursion. Stay tuned!