Panoramic Beaches of Guanacaste

Playa Conchal

Seeing double on La Penca Beach

We drove the longest and most arduous route possible to Guanacaste to get to our humble B and B in Playa Portrero, where our tattooed and braless hostess welcomed us with open arms, pointy nipples and a basketful of fruit. Just fruit. Not a euphemism.

That evening, thirty seconds before the sunset, we made it to Playa Penca, black with volcanic sand and lively with PDA. After a spectacular sunset, we ate a yummy fish dinner at Estero Azul, near Playa Flamingo. The food was delicious, but the place smelled of eau de swamp, not surprisingly, because estero means swamp, of course.

The next day we romped with friends and beers at Playa Conchal, which currently, in our esteem is ranked as the prettiest beach in Costa Rica, stellar and stunning with it’s crushed white-shell sand and turquoise waters. It’s so spectacular that we were sad to leave the next day at noon, when we headed back to try to beat the traffic returning from the Costa Rican Day of Culture holiday weekend.

We do a lot of racing to try to catch sunsets when on vacay in Costa Rica, so we left early for it this time to get to Playa Danta. The clouds beat us to the punch, masking the descent, but we took advantage of the evening by getting mosquito bitten as we chugged cans of Smirnoff Apple spritzers.

We get a bit misty eyed these days, as we realize...”This may be the last time we ever come to Playa Conchal.” In our third and final year here in Costa Rica, it seems like we are more aware of the places and activities that we enjoy here.