Ferry to Santa Teresa

January 19, 2024
Thank goodness I was on the road by 8 am. I bought a ticket for the 12 pm ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera.

There was so much confusion on which line I should be in. A truck driver that spoke a bit of English made sure I was in the right line! I then headed to the bakery for a fresh apple strudel and a cold coke (haven’t had a coke for a very long, long time).

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The ferry ride was quite enjoyable. Cool breeze, warm sun, and a good book! The ride across the bay is 11 nautical miles and takes about 70 minutes. The large ship holds 170 cars and up to 700 passengers but is rarely full. Because of the size, the ferry is very steady in the water and you can hardly feel any movement from waves or winds. I was told to drive my car into the belly of the boat!

Time to head to our cars to drive off….some claustrophobic, hot and sweaty! Some people had their cars running in a closed space!

Finally! Fresh air!

The drive was very nice. Windy roads to Santa Teresa.

Santa Teresa become one of the most popular tourist beaches in Costa Rica. It has a magnificent coastline with white sand beaches that have ideal conditions for surfing. The majority of roads in Santa Teresa are not paved with huge potholes, especially in the rainy season. Additionally, the small roads stemming from the main street up to the mountains are unpaved. A 4x4 is definitely necessary!

This is the road up to my airbnb. It was steep and narrow too!

Once I was settled in, I headed to the beach to catch the sunset!

Long day of travelling….7 hours! Night all.

January 20, 2024
Decided the next few days are just relaxing days. Did lots of hikes last week. I spent the day on Playa Carmen walking the beach and reading.
They water the roads during the day to keep the dust down.

Playa Carmen

Did some shopping.

and watched another amazing Costa Rican sunset

January 21, 2024
I decided not the drive as I just didn’t feel confident. I managed to find a bus “Easy Hop” that would take me to Playa Hermosa for only $16. I met the van and was a Playa Hermosa by 9:30 am.

Playa Hermosa is the most beautiful beach in the southern Nicoya Peninsula and is nearly empty. It’s a long, flat sandy beach with no development on this beach, except for an occasional house tucked back in the trees.

Caught the van back and headed to the beach for another beautiful Costa Rican susnet.

Fish tacos for dinner

January 22, 2024
My last day in SantaTeresa, so I’ve decided to walk the beach to Malpais. Mal Pais is located on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, which juts out into the ocean on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. Mal Pais translates to “Bad Land” in English, and there are many stories about why it was named that. One is because of its rocky coastline. The area is not good for swimming but the scenery is beautiful. A favorite pastime of the locals is bath in the tide pools during mid-tide.

I had a massage today then I headed off to a Yin and Sound Bath Yoga class.

The view from the yoga studio. Before the class….

The sky after class

Grabbed dinner on the way back…. Argentinian chicken dinner…it was delish!