Tamarindo taxi stand

Tamarindo is a small resort town.  Because most people in town are tourists, it does have taxis, although the average taxi ride is probably about two or three minutes long.

There are always taxis at an improvised taxi stand in the center of town.  I have never taken a taxi in Tamarindo, as we usually walk everywhere in town, and we have a car for longer strips out to the supermarket, which is the one place in town that is not within walking distance.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of Bhutan, featuring some of its temples.

Tamarindo Hills

This is a view of the hills above Tamarindo.  Houses and condos have been built up into the hills to take advantage of views of the bay and ocean.

I personally prefer to have a condo close to the ocean instead of  up in the hills, as I would rather walk along the beach and to see the ocean close up, rather than to look at it from a distance.

It is possible to drive up the tower in the far distance, which provides a panoramic view of the area.  At times we go up there to watch the sunset.

This week we are showing another set of underwater photos from our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A Christmas Frog in Lights

The Holiday Season in Tamarindo brings decorations on the street lights in the center of town.  I love the unique, Costa Rican tropical flair to the streetlights.

I have shown some real frogs during the past week, and the holiday lights in Tamarindo are in the shape of frogs wearing a bonnet with a flower with a smiley face at its center.

I like the happy holiday spirit that is shared with these colorful and unusual holiday decorations.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing some photos of the people of Ethiopia taken during out visit there last month.

Yoga under a Night Club

At the end of the road that I showed yesterday, where the Langosta Road starts in Tamarindo, is this sign pointing the way to a yoga studio.  The yoga studio is located on the second floor of the Centro Commercial Plaza building in the background.

On the third floor, just above the yoga studio, is a night club, called Bar 1.  Its sushi banner is visible in the photo.  Fortunately, the yoga studio and the night club are open at different times, as the music from the night club would not be conducive to people doing yoga.

This week we are showing photos of an old cemetery and ruins of an old Friary on the Hill of Slane, Ireland, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

The Langosta Road

Tamarindo is a small town, even though it is the leading beach resort town in Northwest Costa Rica.  In fact, the Washington Post travel editor recently recommended Tamarindo as the best beach to visit in Costa Rica.

This is the photo of the road that connects the main part of Tamarindo with Langosta, which is the most upscale residential neighborhood.  In Langosta there are million dollar homes, and condos ranging to more than half a million.  Yet the road is still not paved.

There has been discussion for years about paving the road for the final mile through the middle of Tamarindo and to Langosta.  One of these years the government in Santa Cruz will do it.  The problem is that nearly all the residents of Tamarindo are foreigners who can't vote, so the government of course gives a higher priority to the needs of Santa Cruz, where most of the voters live.

Tamarindo generates a lot of tax revenue for the local area, which will hopefully encourage the government to invest in additional infrastructure.  In addition to the tourist economy, Costa Rica a few years ago adopted a "luxury tax" on property.  Homes and condos that are valued above about $250,000 pay a higher rate.  That is fine with me.   Costa Rica is the most prosperous country in Central America, but it needs more public investment in roads and other public improvements.  

Tomorrow I will show a photo of what is at the end of this road in Tamarindo.

This week we are showing photos of an old cemetery and ruins of an old Friary on the Hill of Slane, Ireland, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Pink

Today's worldwide Daily Photo theme is "Pink."  Yesterday I showed some traffic on Tamarindo's main street, so today for the theme I decided to show some traffic with a splash of pink on one of the surfboards being towed by a bicycle trailer.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of Tanzania, including both wildlife and people.

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the theme of "Pink," please click on this link.

Traffic

There is no through traffic in Tamarindo.  It is the end of the road towards the ocean. But there is local traffic as people run errands or drive to and from the beach, even though most people can walk to what they need in town or are within walking distance of the beach.

I hate to see people riding in the back of a pickup truck, especially riding sitting on the edge.  My guess, and hope, is that these people were going only a very short distance.

Surfboards are a very common cargo in Tamarindo.

We have new photos of Ireland posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  We are showing photos of Galway and the Cliffs of Moher.

View from Our Diria Condo to Playa Grande

It occurred to me that I have shown lots of photos of sunsets and ocean views from our condo right on the beach in the Playa Langosta area of Tamainrdo, but I have not shown many photos of the view from our condo at the Tamarindo Diria Resort in the middle of Tamarindo.

Today I will start a little series to cure that oversight.  This is a photo from our condo balcony looking north across the mouth of the Tamarindo estuary towards Playa Grande.

The trees in the foreground are part of the grounds of the Tamarindo Diria Resort.

The main part of Tamarindo beach is straight out to the ocean to the left of this scene, but I like the view to the north as well.  I will show the view to the west tomorrow and in the coming days.

Yesterday was a holiday in Guanacaste, the northwest province of Costa Rica.  It was not a national holiday.  It was Annexation Day, celebrating the vote on July 25, 1824 during which Guanacaste voted to be a part of Costa Rica rather than Nicaragua.  Thank goodness.

This week we are showing some photos of Paris, featuring several of its museums. on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

The shopkeepers' children

The girls who I showed yesterday were playing with sand toys on the sidewalk rather than on the nearby beach because, I assume, their parents are one of the shopkeepers on the beachfront street.  The children play while the parents tend the shop.

This week we have photos of Lake Nicaragua posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Girls playing in "downtown" Tamarindo

These young girls were playing on the side of the sidewalk in central Tamarindo.  They are playing with beach toys and sand.  The beach is across the street.  Tomorrow I will show why they were on the sidewalk instead of the beach.

When I refer to "downtown" Tamarindo, I mean the old section of town that leads to the traffic circle at the end of the beachfront road.  It is an area about one or two blocks long, with older shops and restaurants.

This week we have photos of Lake Nicaragua posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Yoga and Pilates in Central Tamarindo

The Central Commercial Plaza building in the background is a condominium office building.  The business that occupies the front of the second floor is a yoga, pilates and dance studio.

Directly above the yoga and pilates studio, on the third floor, is a night club called Bar One.   Sorry, but I cannot give a review of either, as I have not patronized either the yoga place or the night club.

I went to yoga near our home in Arizona.  My wife assured me that there would be other men there.  She was wrong.  I have a bad ankle from an old tennis injury and I cannot stand on one leg.  I could not do much of the yoga.   Near then end they told us to lie down on our backs and relax.  That part, I could do.  I fell asleep.  Julie was embarrassed that I fell asleep, but I told her I was merely following the directions very well.  She did not ask me to go to yoga again.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of the delightful Majorelle Gardens of Marrakech, Morocco, which were owned for many years by Yves Saint-Laurent.

Bicyclist pulling a trailer of surfboards

The bicyclist seemed to do just fine pulling a trailer loaded with surf boards through the main intersection in the middle of Tamarindo.

He is leaving the beach front road, so my guess is that these are the surf boards from a lesson given at the beach, and he is returning the boards to a surf shop, so the customers do not have to carry the boards back.

It must be cheaper for the surf shop to have someone deliver the boards to and from the beach than to pay the higher rent for a beach front location.

This week we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Seplulchre in Jerusalem on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Bicycle trailer for surf boards

This is somewhat of an odd shot, (taken through the car window while driving).  It is a bicycle pulling a trailer loaded with surfboards.

I guess if you have s surf shop business and you need to get the boards from point A to point B, or maybe you need to borrow some boards from another shop, here is the answer to your transportation needs.

It looks like he is dragging one strap that is supposed to be securing the surfboards.  Let's hope they don't take a spill when rounding a corner.

This week we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Seplulchre in Jerusalem on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Nightclub

I don't patronize night clubs.  I therefore cannot give you a review of the night clubs in Tamarindo.  Tamarindo is the only town in the area with enough tourists to have a lot of restaurants and a few night clubs.

Every once in a while, I see young women, who before they came apparently read in guide books about night clubs in Tamarindo, walking around at night in high heel and little black dresses.  It looks ridiculous, as most of the streets are not paved, and everyone else is in t-shirts and shorts in the casual atmosphere of a Costa Rican beach town.

This week we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Seplulchre in Jerusalem on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Pedestrian Surfers

I have never seen anyone walking in Tamarindo carrying a brief case.  On the other hand, one sees people carrying surfboards everyday.

I would never have taken this photo if I did not do a Daily Photo website. I decided to follow these tourists for a few moments to see if they would provide any material for posting.

During the next few days I will let you decide if they did.  It will also give me an opportunity to tell a little story about my wife, Julie, while she was portaging during a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Wilderness on the border between Minnesota and Canada.

We have photos of the wildlife of Africa posted this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A reason to smile

No, the horseman who I showed yesterday was not smiling at me.  He probably did not even notice that I was taking his photo.  He was undoubtedly looking at someone who was walking down the main street of Tamarindo, after getting a cool drink and doing a little shopping.

Bob of St. Louis Daily Photo
left a comment yesterday that correctly guessed why he was smiling.  Bob also left a later comment saying that yesterday he saw this same guy with his horses in the middle of Tamarindo.

Bob is staying at our condo in Playa Langosta this week, and a friend of his has rented the condo for next week.  Bob is posting some superb photos of Tamarindo and Langosta on his site.  I highly recommend that you check it out.

This week we have photos of Africa posted on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Plaza Conchal Shopping Center

Yesterday and the day before I  showed photos of some of the shopping areas of Tamarindo, so here is a similar photo.   This is the Plaza Conchal Shopping Center, which has shops on the first floor and offices on the second floor.

It looks like the man at the right is waiting for his wife to finish shopping.

I go to this shopping center every time I visit Costa Rica because it is the location of the Banco de Costa Rica, where people can pay their airport departure tax of $28 in advance of departure and avoid one line and thing to do at the airport.

This week we have photos showing what a Grand Canyon rafting trip is like, focusing on the camping experience, posted on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Diria Shops

Yesterday I showed the older portion of the main street in Tamarindo.  This is the portion of the beachfront road as it travels through the middle of the Tamarindo Diria Resort complex.

Across the street from this location is another row of Diria shops, with a new restaurant, nightclub and small casino.  I will show a photo of that area in the future, but I need to reorganize my computer inventory of photos first before I can access the most recent batches of photos I have taken.

This week we have photos showing what a Grand Canyon rafting trip is like, focusing on the camping experience, posted on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Beach front road

This is a view down towards the old part of Tamarindo.  This is the last block of the beach front road before it dead ends into what is known as "the circle."  The beach is right behind the row of restaurants and shops on the right side of this photo.

This photo shows the atmosphere of Tamarindo having been a surfers' town before the development of modern condos that have turned it into a resort town.

There are no condos right on the beach in the main part of Tamarindo because the old shops and restaurants got there first.  There are a few condos, such as ours, right on the beach in the Playa Langosta area of Tamarindo, as it is a residential area that was developed primarily in the last 15 years or so.

This week we have photos showing what a Grand Canyon rafting trip is like, focusing on the camping experience, posted on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

The horse transaction continues, and a comment about streets

The conversation between the horse rider and the tourist continued, with the rider dismounting.  I will show the conclusion of this encounter tomorrow.

Although the road to Tamarindo is paved, this photo shows that some of the streets in Tamarindo are still not paved.  The beach front road is paved.  The main road that leads from the beach to the rest of town is supposed to be paved in part starting this month.

The community continues to pressure the local government, which is located 20 minutes away in Santa Cruz, to pave more streets.  A political problem is that most of the residents of Tamarindo are foreigners, and the local politicians obviously place a higher priority on their voters, not foreign residents, and there are many other priorities.

In the meantime, they periodically spread a coating on the dirt streets to keep down the dust.  The coating is derived from the local sugar cane industry and causes a mild and pleasant odor of molasses.  When the streets are paved, I will miss the aroma.

This week we have photos of the ancient Khmer temples around Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia posted  on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.