Living Life in Costa Rica Part 8: The Beach Day

By the time my stay in Montezuma was coming to an end, I was more than ready to get back on the road. Even though I’d had a pretty good time there, worsening allergies and isolation (try living car-less on top of a steep hill) left me wishing for a new adventure. Nevertheless, the day we were leaving, I wasn’t in the best mood. My stomach was acting weird and it probably didn’t help that I was on my period. ALL on the day we were taking a shuttle at 6:15am to get from Montezuma to Playa Sámara, which takes about 4-5 hours. Lucky me!

I stared out of the window for most of the trip and had some dry cookies and pringles for breakfast (boo-hoo). It got me thinking about how glamorous travelling seems to be nowadays. All of these Instagram images and Youtube videos create such an illusion of perfection, but the truth is that you only see a few perfect, fleeting moments. You see the destinations, the breathtaking views and the best angles. You instantly get that “wow” feeling, but most of the time, these are just a couple of minutes of someone’s day.

What you don’t see are the sweaty, tiring walks, the nausea-inducing bus rides, the weird symptoms you get (allergies? food? bug bite?), the countless spiders you need to catch, the language & money struggles, the lonely times, and so on. No one talks about this, because I suppose no one wants to complain, but it needs to be said: sometimes travelling is nothing short of exhausting. Luckily, there isn’t much time to dwell on what goes wrong, since you’re always on the move. Literally.

Sámara was a bit bigger than Montezuma and the ocean was a lot calmer too. Everything was flat and easy to reach (thank goodness). There was nice, calming atmosphere. It felt safe (for a change!).

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Speaking of safe, my Airbnb could not be more different than the jungle cabin I’d gotten used to. No more wild animals and green forests, but a neat row of coloured houses on artificial (!) grass. The whole place made me feel like I was living in a sims village.

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The highlight of my stay was what could be described as the perfect beach day. Sámara was a bit more touristy, so we decided to walk all the way to the end of the beach, which took us about 2 hours. That is with lots of breaks to swim and take pictures. On the Internet I read that Playa Sámara was still a hidden treasure in Costa Rica and I must say they weren’t exaggerating. Everywhere I looked, I was stunned by the view. As we got closer to the end, the ocean gradually changed from a dark, vibrant blue to a more muted greenish colour. #TropicalVibes all the way!

Around 5pm, we were back at the village and ready to enjoy the sunset! It did not disappoint. That’s the thing with travelling: no matter what kind of unfortunate situation you find yourself in, there’s always another magical moment around the corner. And just like that, you’re pulled into the present and reminded how beautiful the earth is and how extraordinary life is. To me, these moments make it all worth it.

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Although my stay in Sámara was short, it was one of the most fun and relaxing places I’ve been so far! Definitely do not skip this town if you’re planning a trip to Costa Rica 🙂 Anyway, thank you so much for reading & let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Read next: My First Diary Entry

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