My one-week stay in Playa Hermosa, about 40 minutes due west of Liberia and its international airport, LIR, is slowly coming to a close. Quite frankly, this trip has been a bit disappointing on various levels, but it still was enjoyable if for nothing else than some quality quiet time to read a good book and listen to the waves.
The biggest downer has been the weather, as a massive storm system has parked clouds and rain all across Costa Rica's Pacific coast. Not much one can do about that, of course, but it does put a damper on things. During my first few days there were some periods of sun, with beautiful beach vistas befitting the tourist brochures. But for the past three days it has been extremely cloudy, with quite a bit of rain, and that is not what a beach vacation needs.
Of course, before coming down here I knew that I was going to face tough riding conditions as Guanacaste is anything but flat. No, there are no mountains of the caliber that one finds around the capital, San José, but Playa Hermosa is surrounded by ridges that rise 200 to 300 meters, and the roads are extremely steep. How steep? While riding, I saw figures of up to 15%, at which point I got off to walk and push and the computer would no longer display a gradient. Add to that the stifling humidity that the rains have only increased, and it becomes obvious that a 69-year-old is not going to gobble up the miles the way he did as a youngster.
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The resort road outside of my unit,
so steep that I didn't dare to get on the bike when taking off. |
How tough was the riding? Well, I went out on three days (luckily and with a little foresight avoiding big deluges), and those rides were 11, 15, and 17 miles long, with average speeds somewhere in the 6 to 8 mph range. And yes, I did walk several inclines because I felt as if my head was just about to explode had I tried to stay on the bike another five revolutions.
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These pics show Playa Hermosa and the Condovac Resort,
with the steep road leading up to my unit, as marked. |
Still, in hindsight these 43 miles took me through pretty countryside, to beautiful beaches, and on a few gravel roads through some thick vegetation. On my final ride, which took me to the small town of Sardinal, I felt that I really was in an original Central American hamlet, once again, instead of just a touristy beach community where one doesn't even find a proper
zocalo or a few tiny stores and restaurants. I am so glad that I went on that ride, even if those 17 miles ate my lunch.
My stay at the Club & Hotel Condovac La Costa in Hermosa Beach was OK, but certainly not something to put on a 10 Best list. I had used RCI timeshare points for a one-bedroom apartment, the only available resort (via RCI) in Costa Rica with the option to forego the all-inclusive package. Well, I had read the reviews and after a week I can only say I am glad that I opted against full board. (Breakfast was mandatory and cost $89 for the seven days; the fruit was fresh, and if one can live with the exactly same daily fare of omelet,
gallo pinto [rice and beans], and fried bananas, then the $13 daily cost was bearable.)
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White-throated magpie-jays were a constant
threat to plates of food |
After I had read the reviews I was mentally prepared to fight for a decent room, and I honestly can't complain as my persistence paid off. Unit number 106 had a small, semi-private porch that gave me a beautiful view of the bay; very few condos offer this view, so that's why I won't give this resort just one-and-a-half stars or maybe even two but a whopping two-and-a-half! But otherwise, the place was 1960s material, clean, sure, but oh-so-tired. Oh well, typical RCI fare, but traveling by myself I don't get as pissed as I would otherwise. The hot water worked, the bed was comfortable, and the lack of wi-fi was not a major issue as I was able to stay connected via Google Fi. There was daily maid service, and the air conditioning worked, so enough sour grapes.
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| The non-adjustable showerhead and its manly stream! |
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| Happy Hour with Kool-Aid rum punches |
The resort is built into the northern hillside of Playa Hermosa bay, and it has STEEP roads! So steep that I never had the guts to start riding from my unit downhill but instead pushed the bike 75 meters to the general reception and pool area and took an alternate road, slightly less steep, to the seashore. But the resort does run a continuous shuttle for its guests, and once in a while, after going down to the beach at night for dinner, I'd take it.
During my final ride I climbed the ridge on the opposite side of the bay and had a beautiful view not only of Condovac Resort but also a new resort that is being carved out of the hillside just to the west. Just keep that in mind if you come down here in a year or two and want to ride your bike!
Playa Hermosa is really not much of a village. There are lots of expensive houses surrounding the place, quite likely belonging to rich expats or well-to-do
ticos, but apart from three small grocery stores (two of them belonging to the local chain Super Luperon) and a few lawyer offices, beauty shops, and kitschy boutiques there is nothing of interest. Quite a let-down. It would have been fun to sit in the town square (if there were one) and watch the world go by.
As I said, I didn't buy into the almost $700 all-inclusive package after reading the reviews that mentioned the listless, unimaginative slop that is being served for lunch and dinner. Well, if the selection of breakfast items is any indication, then those reviews are probably on to something. But I had to eat, and reviewers had mentioned the various beach-side restaurants that are within walking distance of the resort. One night I had
mariscos a la plancha, another night a medium pizza, then a grilled fish, and on a fourth night a blob of mashed potatoes with a few spoonful of marinated octopus (a so-called
causa), and each meal was in the $26 to $30 range, two of them with a beer, the others with just a glass of water. Whew! And mind you, the places were all pretty much deserted since this is the low season. So, remember this if you should consider coming down here.
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10,000 colones is $20, and the prices do not include
an additional 13% tax and 10% service fee |
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| Really? $29 for this? |
The same goes for groceries in the Super Luperon. The fine assortment of goodies below cost me a whopping $37—after all I needed to have a small bite for lunch and a beer or a rum punch for Happy Hour (I
did bring some Tropical Punch Kool-Aid, thank goodness!). I conducted a little bit of research, and what I found is startling: The median individual income in Costa Rica is about $3,500 a month while in Lubbock it is about $2,750. Now, take that with a dose of skepticism because I really didn't spend several hours on researching this but rather used AI for some comparisons. But we all know how cheap living in Lubbock is, and the same cannot be said for Playa Hermosa or Costa Rica in general, generally seen as the by far most expensive Central American country.
But who cares, right? With a bit of direct sun, the beaches are beautiful, even if the sand is not bleach-white but a bit on the brownish side. The water is blue, the sail-boats and yachts add to the atmosphere, and there aren't many people around to share this with. So, I definitely enjoyed that.
I'd assume that most people don't come to Costa Rica just for beaches but rather for the rainforests, the yoga retreats, the waterfalls, the fauna and flora. I get that. I have been coming down here since back in 1979, I think, when I rode down to the Panama Canal. Even then the country was already way too
gringo for me, and it hasn't changed any (unless you can find a little place as I did back in 2022 in Puntarenas). I've come down here for numerous races since then, as well as private trips, but I have to say that
Pura Vida seems more and more hackneyed and there are other countries south of our border that may give you more of an authentic Latino experience, if that's what you are after. For
gringos it appears to be a safe and easy-to-navigate place (everybody speaks English, and often restaurants display prices first in dollars and then in colones), but I think I enjoy some of the other countries more (Mexico and Guatemala come to mind).
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| The Condovac's infinity pool ... |
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| ... and its inexplicable Ferris wheel! |
So, all that said, even a not-totally-satisfying trip is better than raking leaves at home, and I am glad that I was able to use miles to fly here for more or less free and even use up some of those fairly useless RCI points. And I once again got to refresh my memory what inclines of 12% or even 15% feel like!
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| Mango tree |
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| Butterflies, drinking from a puddle |
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| Lockable Dumpsters |
After a week in the Condovac I checked out this morning and called an Uber ("only" $37 for the 25-minute ride to the LIR airport, half of any other type of transfer I had been able to find). Halfway through the ride I received a text message from American that my afternoon flight back to the US had been cancelled (apparently because of weather in Texas) and I will now fly out of Liberia tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. I quickly checked hotel options and asked the Uber driver to drop me off at the airport Hilton Garden Inn, less than a mile from LIR. Good thing I have an annual travel insurance policy with Allianz, which will take care of accommodations and incidentals. Let's keep our fingers crossed that I'm actually going to make it home by tomorrow afternoon as my trip to Enduro Nationals in Idaho is coming up on Wednesday morning.
Ai, Chihuahua!
Jürgen
My stay at the Club & Hotel Condovac La Costa in Hermosa Beach was OK, but certainly not something to put on a 10 Best list. I had used RCI timeshare points for a one-bedroom apartment, the only available resort (via RCI) in Costa Rica with the option to forego the all-inclusive package. Well, I had read the reviews and after a week I can only say I am glad that I opted against full board. (Breakfast was mandatory and cost $89 for the seven days; the fruit was fresh, and if one can live with the exactly same daily fare of omelet, gallo pinto [rice and beans], and fried bananas, then the $13 daily cost was bearable.) 
During my final ride I climbed the ridge on the opposite side of the bay and had a beautiful view not only of Condovac Resort but also a new resort that is being carved out of the hillside just to the west. Just keep that in mind if you come down here in a year or two and want to ride your bike!
I'd assume that most people don't come to Costa Rica just for beaches but rather for the rainforests, the yoga retreats, the waterfalls, the fauna and flora. I get that. I have been coming down here since back in 1979, I think, when I rode down to the Panama Canal. Even then the country was already way too gringo for me, and it hasn't changed any (unless you can find a little place as I did back in 2022 in Puntarenas). I've come down here for numerous races since then, as well as private trips, but I have to say that Pura Vida seems more and more hackneyed and there are other countries south of our border that may give you more of an authentic Latino experience, if that's what you are after. For gringos it appears to be a safe and easy-to-navigate place (everybody speaks English, and often restaurants display prices first in dollars and then in colones), but I think I enjoy some of the other countries more (Mexico and Guatemala come to mind).
