Our Costa Rican adventure continues! If you haven’t read about the first part of our trip, check it out before reading!

Our next day involved traveling through the pottery town of Guaitil where we got an up-close experience of watching beautiful pottery made by hand. The shop we went to was made up of several members of the same family who all had learned this awesome trade. I couldn’t help but buy a couple pieces to take home with me and support this great family business.

Lunch that day was a more family style way of eating and it was probably the yummiest food I had the whole trip. You could see their whole kitchen operation and the people were extremely nice. They fed us so well right before we went on a safari boat tour. We actually saw crocodiles up close, tons of birds and the biggest iguanas ever.

After a great day of exploring, we made our way to Playa Samara where we would stay at Hotel Villas Playa Samara for the rest of the trip. This place is right on the beach, has a gorgeous pool and just screamed relaxation. We were so excited! That night we had one last big group dinner and then a few of us went to a local bar called Arriba and we danced the night away.

The next morning, Grace and I went on a kayak tour out to a nearby island. The hotel had a guide named Andrew who came with us and provided fresh fruit that was so delicious. Grace and I had both kayaked before, but for some reason, we had the most ridiculous time getting our kayak to go where we wanted to…but it meant we were laughing non-stop as we navigated to this small island to snorkel. The water was so clear and refreshing.  We saw lots of colorful fish and had such a fun time!

That afternoon we headed into town to walk around the shops and grab some food. Samara is the perfect mix of having the beach right there and things to do, but not filled with a ton of tourists. We interacted and became friends with locals which made our time there so much better. Definitely showed me how great it is to be in a foreign country but surrounded by people who call that place home.

That night we went back to Arriba and experienced a World Cup game between Costa Rica and the United States. This night goes on my list of one of the coolest experiences of my life. I’ve never had more fun cheering for a sports team…Grace and I decided to cheer for Costa Rica after they scored their first goal and we saw the eruption of excitement from everyone at the bar. Each goal led to yelling, hugging, kisses from strangers and people taking their shirts off…Costa Rica won 4-0. I will never forget how much fun this was!

We spent the next couple days of our trip just relaxing and enjoying the beauty that is Costa Rica. We went on a private boat tour through the hotel which was amazing and so much fun! We also got massages at the hotel which was the ultimate form of relaxation.

This trip went by so quick, but we got to experience so much in the week that we were there. I can’t wait to get back to this beautiful country and experience other parts of Costa Rica. Any suggestions on other great cities to visit in Costa Rica? I would love to hear about it!

Happy travels! 🙂