My flirtation with idleness ended. I simply couldn’t sit around Tamarindo another day doing nothing or I’d grow increasingly frustrated. So the relaxation was fine for awhile but now I needed to find something else to do. Surfing lessons didn’t seem like a thing for me but plenty of other activities sounded interesting.
Tamarindo Estuary
Tamarando sits along Costa Rica’s northwestern shoreline where a river of the same name dumps into the Pacific Ocean. The tidal portion of the river, the estuary, is preserved within Parque Nacional Marino las Baulas (Marine National Park of the Leatherback Turtle (map). Well, the turtles nest and lay their eggs from October to May so we didn’t see any of them. However there were plenty of other animals swimming or roaming around during our visit.
We caught a tour at the park office just north of Tamarindo beach. Most of the park is covered by water — that’s why it’s a marine park — and the rest is dense jungle. So the only feasible way to enter it was by boat, and that’s where the guided tour came in. Most tourists don’t arrive with their own boat and if they do it’s probably not designed to navigate shallow waters through a mangrove swamp. In fact tour operators have to time their trips to coincide with high tide.
I like boats a lot so that could have been plenty for me but really the wildlife is the primary draw. Sure, there are tons of birds so birders would love this place. On top of that add abundant crocodiles, iguanas, monkeys, marsh crabs, insects, and fish. It made for a great morning on the sea, riding deep into an estuary along narrow passages and onto the open water.
Monkey Center
We also visited the Monkey Park Foundation Wildlife Center about a half-hour outside of Tamarindo (map). This was a little different than the rest of our animal adventures because it didn’t involve viewing them in the wild. Rather it was a rescue and rehabilitation center. Animals came to the center with the hope that they could eventually return to their natural habitat. Sometimes they can’t so at least here they have a safe haven for the remainder of their lives.
One little fellow — a howler monkey — arrived at the center because of its dependency on humans, becoming a nuisance in the process. It would steal food, phones, wallets and basically anything it could grab from unsuspecting tourists on Tamarindo beach. I wondered if the delinquent monkey we’d seen the night before was on the same track. Maybe it’ll end up in monkey jail someday too.
Food Truck Park
Humidity never relented but heat dissipated somewhat in the evenings. I’d had enough casado and other traditional Costa Rican delicacies by that time and craved a little variety.
Fortunately I’d already stumbled upon the Food Truck Park because that’s where I found the the Papagayo Brewing stand a couple days earlier. I guess the official name was Jardín Tamarindo. Whatever the case, it fit what I needed that evening and provided a low-key place to hang out for awhile. Food trucks offered a wide range of cuisine including Chinese. I couldn’t bring myself to get Chinese in Costa Rica although I’m sure it was fine. I went with Mexican, which is distinctly different from the local fare despite its geographic proximity.
Night Market
We also went to the Night Market which happens every Thursday evening. Well, the kids didn’t go. They couldn’t care less. So more accurately I guess my wife and I went. The individual stalls had a lot of handcrafted items and grilled foods. There was also a stage with live music.
So there’s quite a bit more to Tamarindo than just sitting on the beach all day drinking. Although that’s certainly available too if that’s what one wants from a vacation. Anyway, I enjoyed the small “break” in our trip to see the beach for a couple of days and now the mountains beckoned again.
Articles in the Costa Rica Series
- Intentions and Observations
- In the Shadow of the Volcano
- Exploring La Fortuna
- Brew Day
- Relaxing in Tamarindo
- Beyond the Beach
- On To Monteverde
- Completing the Circuit
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr
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