Costa Rica’s highlands were magical but after a few days, the Pacific Ocean was Calling.
We headed south from Orosi along the Pan-American Highway. This section of the highway reaches over 10,000′ in elevation before winding its way down to San Isidro de el General as Jim & I dreamed of continuing south to complete our journey started several years ago. Instead, we took a hard right and headed towards the Pacific Ocean.
When plotting and planning our ideal Costa Rica adventure we purposefully chose four diverse regions to explore. Knowing full well that no single trip allows for total exploration of a country, even one as small and easy to manage as Costa Rica, we looked for varied destinations that would suit everyone’s bucket list.
After exploring the capital of San Jose, searching for sloths on the Caribbean coast at Tortuguero, and enjoying the hilltown delights of Orosi we knew our final stop needed to be the mighty Pacific Ocean.
Anne had found a delightful beachfront house on AirBnB near the tiny village of Esterillos Centro. We were looking for a pool with a beach view minus the hustle and bustle of the bigger touristy towns like Jaco. This calm and relaxing area of Puenteranas proved the perfect location to commune with nature, visit some of Costa Rica’s splendid national parks, and eat our weight in seafood while enjoying epic sunsets.
The fun began before we even reached the beach when we spotted an airplane sitting on the side of the road next to a restaurant. Now seriously. you just can’t pass that by without stopping in right?!
Turns out that Ricar2 El Avion was a delightful patio restaurant set next to a small pool. The airplane we spotted turned out to be N369FA and she’d had quite a history. Built in 1979, the Boeing 747 began life in Germany before heading to Ethiopia, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and South Africa before ending up in Costa Rica where it became a hotel.
Here we had our first taste of a curiosity called a Mexican Margarita, a silly name to be sure since all margaritas are Mexican in my book! Although dubious, we ordered the monstrous margaritas with an overturned Corona bottle inside. The verdict… while not traditional, they sure are damn tasty. Coupled with some great menu items, Ricar 2 was well worth a lunch stop.
Another hour or so found us at our stunning AirBnB at the end of a dead-end dirt road. The house, now known as Jazmin’s Place, was perfect. With a fully gated yard, the house included a full kitchen and living room downstairs while upstairs offered two master suites, both opening onto the communal balcony overlooking the ocean.
The covered patio with Adirondack chairs was appealing but the real draw was the pool in the courtyard with views of the beach poking through the lush foliage
After a few drinks taking in the spectacular sunset we were thrilled to be able to meander a block down the dirt lane and enjoy dinner at Hotel Bar Restaurante La Escapadita. The friendly staff had some uncomplimentary things to say about the owner of the house we’d rented; perhaps part of the reason the house now appears to be owned by the group that offers it for rent as Jazmin’s Place.
The food was great and the service was friendly. With the 10-minute drive to even a small village, having the restaurant just a short walk from the house was a dream.
During our time there we enjoyed a day trip to Manual Antonio National Park and a short trip to Jaco, but to be honest, we were mostly content to stroll the beach and relax in the pool with a book. Ironically enough, as we had noted in Tortuguero, our best wildlife sightings occurred while simply lounging in the pool at our rental house.
On any given day, we spent hours checking out the various lizards and iguanas but we most loved the scarlet macaws living in our trees. Pura Vida indeed!