|
Costa Rica has pretty constant year round temperatures.
It is pleasant at night and in the early morning, but gets quite warm
during midday. There are many small hotels in the Nosara area, some
of which have air conditioning and some don't. The Nosara Beach Hotel
does not have A/C. Thus, if you stay in your room during the midday
heat, you'll likely sit on the balcony or in front of the fan. The nights
are fine. If you simply must have A/C, the Harbor Reef Lodge (approximately
2 miles away by car) may be the place for you. It's located about a
1/4 mile inland in the forest, so you don't get the ocean view. Now
for some important words about food.
|
|
There is a nice assortment of little restaurants in
the Nosara area. One of my favorite is the La Luna which I show a few
pics of below. The blonde girl in the above pics is Allison, the resident
chef at the hotel. Allison has since opened her own place called Allison's
Sunset Bar (shushi bar) near the Almost Paradise Hotel just up the road
from the La Luna. Allison is a professionally trained chef from South
Carolina. When not in the kitchen, she is out ripping the surf. That's
my son Mike sitting next to her, my other son Jon in the background,
and the hotel co-manager Emily way back there.
|
|
About 100 yards down the hill from the hotel, is the
La Luna. The pic of the menu shows the prices in Costa Rica Colones.
You can use USA currency at most places (including here), and they will
give you a good exchange rate (perhaps just a few points below the current
bank rate). However, it is much easier to use the local currency, and
you will probably save about 3 to 5% overall. When I was there, the
bank rate was 472 Colones to one US dollar. I had the red snapper with
tomato salsa for 3300 Colones (that's about $7.00 US). The food was
quite good here and everywhere else we ate in Costa Rica. They use a
nice assortment of spices that makes the food just a little bit hot,
but not hot like spicy Mexican food. If you drink water, always order
bottled water just as you should in any area where you are not sure
about the condition of the water supply. A large bottle of water at
the restaurant was 500 Colones ($1.06 US). By the way, the exchange
rate changes frequently. Now for some more scenery...
|