Going, going, going! I was nonstop in Costa Rica for 9 days. With only 5 days left, I felt the need to slow down a bit, and Tamarindo was the ideal place in which to relax.
The perfect start to my short stint in Tamarindo was arriving for sunset. I got overjoyed by the zoom lens on my camera as I observed the surfers, sailors, and glorious setting sun against the sights and sounds of the perfect waves rolling into shore.
The next morning, I started off the day with my first Airbnb experience—yoga on the sandy beach. This turned out to include some unexpectedly special touches that made for an already unique experience even better! A tarot card pull to open the practice and fresh coconut water to close it? Wonderful!
Getting To Tamarindo
The beginning of rainy season in Costa Rica is May. I had been in Costa Rica for over a week and I managed to avoid rain the entire time. It seemed I was tempting fate!
The weather finally turned as I drove Northwest into the Guanacaste province after my morning snorkel of the Tortuga Islands. The sky grew dark and the downpour began as soon as I was about 1 hour from Tamarindo.
I experience rain all the time in South Florida—heavy rains. This was a lot like that only Blanca didn’t have the best wipers. There was only one lane of traffic so the flow was suddenly slow. Nevertheless, the rain only delayed a 2.5-hour drive by maybe 20 minutes. This was still a shorter drive than 4.5 hours directly from San Jose.
I was just outside of Tamarindo when the rain stopped and the skies opened up. Yay!
Why Tamarindo?
Tamarindo is a big tourist town known for its motto, “surf, eat, party.” The beautiful, Western-sky-facing beach is the main attraction. The beach stretches almost 1.5 mi (2.2 km), known for its perfect waves for surfers of all levels.
Surf lessons are commonly offered up and down the beach, along with beach massages.
The main road set back from the beach has numerous restaurants, resorts, bars, and shops along each side.
Where To Stay In Tamarindo
I arrived to Tamarindo at about 5pm. My goal was to get there before sunset and I did it!
Iguana Surf Hotel is the place I found to stay prior to arriving in Tamarindo. Iguana Surf was on the second floor above a small supermarket with limited off-street parking. I was lucky to find one of 3 parking spaces available for Blanca there.
My process for finding places to stay so far was to book them as I went. That’s because I didn’t know for sure where I was going and when I would get there. I had a general itinerary and some places I heard were good to see, but I didn’t want to feel too locked into a plan.
This hotel, however, was one of my best finds yet. There are many options at Iguana Surf, including full private rooms with private baths. I opted for their 8-bed, 2-bath dorm because the photos and reviews were so positive. The booking was on Airbnb. You can book directly on their website but I got a deal through Airbnb for less than $23 for the night.
The place had icy cold AC and all new, modern décor. The beds were super comfy and I only had 2 other roommates during my stay so we were all spread out.
The best part about Iguana Surf? Location! Location! Location! After checking in and throwing my stuff down, I went downstairs to the convenience store, bought a beverage, and walked right across the street to the beach.
Beach Sunset
I found a spot with nobody in my view and perched myself there to watch the full sunset. I occasionally saw a group tourists riding horses up and down the beach in front of me. While I didn’t mind the beautiful silhouette of them, this was not an experience that was of interest to me because of my values around ethical animal tourism.
Instead, I enjoyed sipping my CBD-infused kombucha as I observed all the surfers and the sailboats as the sun got lower and lower in the sky.
I took this opportunity to try further testing out the zoom lens on my new Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. I recently bought the Ultra specifically for the zoom lens and quality. I wanted to see how far I could zoom in on the sun.
I discovered the camera could zoom in more than I expected. While the photos at full zoom were not as clear, the zoom definitely beat my old phone camera and certainly my Windows phone from 9 years earlier on my round-the-world trip. The zoom even beat out my Olympus TG series digital camera!
I was so pleased with how well the camera took pictures! This added to the joy of the entire experience of watching the sunset.
I captured the major stages of the sunset and the overall scene at Tamarindo beach in the video below. Check it out!
Beach Stroll and Dinner
Once the sun went down, I took a walk down the beach to find some food. It didn’t take long before I found Tama Onda. Their happy hour and tables on the sand are what drew me in.
Miami has great ceviche but Costa Rica is known for its seafood so I wanted it here. Tama Onda seemed like it’d be good. I had fresh ceviche, chips, and salsa for dinner while watching the sky turn from pink to purple to blue to black.
I went on a little stroll through town after I ate. I wanted to check out some of what Tamarindo had to offer besides the beach.
In addition to bars and shops, I also found advertising for all the same typical experiences I’d seen in other major towns around Costa Rica. You could use Tamarindo as a launch location for night tours of the jungle, canopy ziplining, and bus trips to other towns for additional adventures.
But I wasn’t interested in these. I came to Tamarindo to slow down and I was determined to find an experience that would help me to do so. I went back to the dorm and opened up Airbnb to search for “experiences.” I’d never booked an Airbnb experience before. I first learned about them from my buddy Dani at GlobeTrotterGirls.com who gives tours of Brooklyn, NY.
I figured I’d give it a try for the first time with an experience right here in Tamarindo that would stretch my body and calm my mind.
Yoga on Tamarindo Beach
Rise and shine! By 7:30am, I was mostly packed and already on the beach. I was instructed to find the spot where there was a HUGE log in the waves. I found it!
This was the spot where beach yoga would take place with Virginia Marie—an expat living in Costa Rica.
At 8am, other yogis started arriving to this shady, breezy part of the beach. Virginia offered free yoga mat rentals for everyone to use for the class.
This was about to be my first in-person class since long before COVID-19. I started doing virtual classes over Zoom live with a local Miami studio weekly during the pandemic.
I was excited to be in the open air to do yoga while watching and listening to the waves.
Adding to the uniqueness of this experience, Virginia offered everyone to pull a tarot card at the start of the class. We got to keep it at the end. Mine read:
When I make joy a priority, brilliant ideas will come naturally, support will surround me, and movements will form.
I found this card to be super relevant to my experience on this trip as a solo traveler—I was prioritizing joy! And it was a great reminder to my future that good things will come when I focus on being good to my soul.
I captured some video but Virginia also recorded a hyperlapse of the entire session on her own camera. She sent the videos she took to everyone less than a week later.
I was able to take her videos and mine and combine them. You can watch below to get a sense of the chill vibes of the whole experience!
At the close of the practice, Virginia handed out cool, fresh coconut water to everyone. So for $13 total, I got a yoga practice plus a beautiful tarot card and coconut water that was some of the most refreshing I’ve had in a long time—almost as good as in Niue!
In Conclusion
After hiking, SCUBA diving, ziplining, snorkeling and so much more, the yoga session on the beach was exactly what my body needed. My body was feeling stretched and reset.
Additionally, the relaxing sunset views and listening to the waves as I meditated and reflected on my tarot card allowed my mind to reset, too.
My time in Tamarindo was short but it was incredibly fulfilling and exactly the relaxing slow-down I needed to continue on my journey.
I was now headed to my second-to-last destination but on the way I’d be giving my eyes yet another feast. Next time, I will be posting about the most brilliantly blue waterfall I’ve ever seen! Stay tuned for that just before the new year.
