COSTA RICA-- St. Teresa! Ziplines, rum drinks, surfing and restaurant finds

Our adventure in Costa Rica began with a 4:45 am wake up call to make a 6am Nature Air charter flight from San Jose to Tambor (if you are three or more, or charter flight makes sense timewise and costwise).  After the 30 minute flight we landed on a grassy airstrip on a gorgeous coastline that looked like a pristine jungle.  Our father, who had arrived on schedule two days prior, met us at the landing strip with a 4x4 Toyota to take us to St. Teresa, the unspoiled, undeveloped beach town an hour on a bumpy dirt road from the airstrip. St. Teresa is a few kilometers north of Mal Pais, which is more crowded and discovered than St. Teresa.

We checked into Pranamar, the newest spot in St. Teresa (only open for four months), opened by Susan Money, the same woman who built and sold Florblanca, the swishest resort in the area.  After two days of hellacious travel and no sleep we fortified ourselves with a delicious breakfast of tropical fruit, eggs, smoothies, and cafe con leches.  The rest of day was spent catching naps on the beach, swimming and surfing.  Sundowners were the best mojitos we've ever had crafted by Benicio, the bartender and were enhanced by adding muddled berries to the usual mint, sugar, club soda and rum concoction.  The Costa Ricans actually favor the Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Cana over their own native rum....  We've loved Flor de Cana for years.  The sunset matched the cocktail as being outstanding.

After ten hours of sleep, the next day we were invigorated and ready for adventure.  Everyone we know who has ever been to Costa Rica mentions the zip line canopy tour as being a highlight.  So, we went ziplining through the jungle with two convivial yet professional natives.  Flying through the jungle dangling only from a cable was exhilarating and a fantastic way to literally get an "overview" of the area.

We'd worked up an appetite from our morning of flying through the forest and stopped off at Tropico Latino in Malpais for lunch.  Tropico Latino is one of the oldest yoga/surf retreats-- made up of a cluster of bungalows, an open air bar/restaurant beside a small pool on the beach.  The food was surprisingly delicious-- fresh grilled fish, salad and sauteed potatoes-- it was so outstanding we decided to return for dinner a few days later.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and then attended a complimentary yoga class at Pranamar in the afternoon-- one class per day per person is included in the room rate.  Following yoga, we mixed up our own rum drinks in the little kitchenette in our bungalow and then ventured down the bumpy road to Mary's, which we had heard many glowing things about.  The restaurant did not disappoint and we enjoyed shrimp pizza and ceviche as appetizers and succulent, buttery, garlic-y lobster.  The wines were actually quite good too.  It's not a rip off down here in this area-- such a dinner for four rings in at around $150.

More manana....