Santa Teresa

The first weekend of July, I needed to get out of town...it had been a little bit of a stressful week and I needed to clear my head.  In Costa Rica, what better way to do that than to go to the beautiful beach town of Santa Teresa?  Santa Teresa lies on the Nicoya Peninsula, and getting there is really nice, even though it's a little long.  I went with my friends Jenny and Sonia.  We actually decided to go to Puntarenas Friday night after Sonia and I were done teaching. 

This would shorten the trip the next day and we could take an early ferry across the peninsula the next morning and still have enough time to take in the sun and play in the water that day before having to head back to San Jose on Sunday afternoon.  We ended up only sleeping about 45 minutes when we were in Puntarenas, but we ate the most delicious treat I've ever had in my life and we went to a bar and watched a pretty good live band.

The next day, we caught the 5:00 a.m. ferry from Puntarenas and got to Santa Teresa around 9 a.m. It was absolutely awesome.  Our teacher friend Isla recommended we stay at the place where she was living, and it was awesome...she had a great view of the ocean.

After checking in with the owner, we changed our clothes, ate some breakfast and went to the beach.  It had been raining that morning, but the afternoon was filled with sunshine.

We each even got to drive Isla's ATV around Santa Teresa.  She told us she had to teach a night class, but to take a ride a few kilometers down the road to a beach called Playa Hermosa (not to be confused with the one near Jacó, or the one in Guanacaste!) to catch the sunset. I'm so happy we did, because not only was the sunset great, but we got to see a full rainbow!

I would recommend the Santa Teresa area to anyone wanting sun, amazing beaches, and a laid back, relaxed vibe. I hope to go back soon!