Blatts in Costa Rica: Beaches of Northern Guanacaste: Playa Coco, Ocotal, Hermosa, Flamingo

On our first night, Grandma Evey was stung by a giant centipede in her bathroom. Those things can sting! How does one soothe a centipede bite? The answer; soak your foot in hot water, (according to Mr. Wikipedia and Chief Researcher, Benji Blatt.) It seemed to work.

The next night, Steve had to kill a four-inch scorpion in our bathroom. We wore shoes after that.

The next morning there was a snake in the pool and a dead dove on our patio.

But really, how can you go wrong when howler monkeys hang out in the trees and we spend our days hopping back and forth between the condo pool and the beach, just a block away.

At Playas del Coco, Grandma Evey and Papu dug their toes into the sand and waded in the water while we Blatts couldn’t get enough of the cool sea water; too placid for boogie boarding, but perfect for swimming…

Playa Ocotal, just a 15 minute drive south of Coco had some pretty snorkeling and clear waters.

We took a 50 minute side trip from Playas del Coco along a bumpy road to beautiful Playa Flamingo. Blessed with bright blue waters and ample boogie boarding opportunities, this long stretch of white sand beach was packed with tourists over the Semana Santa week. We loved romping in the waves and trying to duck under the giant crashers.

Playa Hermosa was a pretty, brown sand beach, and we enjoyed some calm boogie boarding, there. Our last evening, after a lovely Playa Hermosa sunset, we were lucky to find the terrific restaurant at that town’s hilltop Hotel de la Finestre: Happy Hour from 4-7 with a $7 whole, red snapper with salad and 4 buck drinks. Fantastic! Hermosa, by the way, lives up to its name: Beautiful!