Playa Biesanz – Pura Vida

When I think of Costa Rica I think of the country’s beautiful beaches, the awesome surfing, lush rain forests and their motto ‘Pura Vida’. When the ship anchored off Quepos, this is what I went ashore to find. After a quick walk around town I took a taxi with some of my colleagues to the closest beach. I had read about the Antonio Manuel National Park and this small beach there but thought it was too far away. The taxi driver left us at a big beach in the national park, however it was very crowded and did not look all that nice. We approached another taxi driver asking how far it was to the Playa Biesanz, the smaller beach we had heard about. As it was only another five minutes away (and even closer to the ship) we decided to give it a try.

Playa Biesanz – Road to the beach

The taxi driver dropped us off on the side of the road, and we agreed that he would come and pick us up two hours later. At the entrance to the small jungle we had to walk through we were greeted by the cutest little stray dog. We had no idea how far away the beach was, but soon after we had started walking we could hear the sound of the waves on the beach and figured it couldn’t be that far. About five minutes later we could spot the entrance to the beach.

Playa Biesanz – just a small hike …

The beach was quite small and enclosed in a beautiful lagoon, exactly what we had been hoping for. There were a few beach chairs and some tables selling food and drinks, but other than that there was not much in terms of facilities. People-wise most seemed like locals or American backpackers.

Playa Biesanz – Pura Vida

Playa Biesanz – Patterns in the sand

Being extremely hot from the walk down, the first priority was getting in the water. While the water was surprisingly warm, it was really nice floating around in the swells – enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful nature.  Next up we decided to try a drink from one of the small stands. Even if the drinks were not the fanciest they did have an impressive menu. With drinks in hand we headed back out into the water.

Cheers

After a quick rest in the sun it was time to head back up to the road. If the way down was hot it was nothing compared to the walk back up the hill to the road. When we made it to the top all I could think of was going back into the water! The taxi driver arrived 5 minutes after the meeting time we had agreed on, at which point we were already planning alternative ways to get back to the ship. Luckily the taxi ride took hardly any time at all.