One of the funniest times I’ve had in Costa Rica!
During my stay in Samara I met many amazing people among locals and expats, and I also met a couple of fellow world travelers who were passing by.
One of them was Pablo, an enthusiastic madrileño who had travel around Costa Rica many times before and was kind of an expert on finding incredible places off the beaten track.
On this occasion, he just bought an old – but awesome – Triumph motorbike for $2000 while he was in Mexico City and drove it down to the west coast of Mexico, then from there, all the way down to the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.
He turned up in Samara on my last week there.
We clicked right away! He’s one of those people who’s so inherently true to himself, so comfortable with who he is, that you feel immediately a connection… like an old buddy that you haven’t seen in a while, but who has that familiarity that puts you instantly at ease.
It wasn’t even a whole afternoon of chatting about our lives and what got us both on “the road to the unknown”, when he said he was going to visit friends at some Tico farm in San Francisco de Coyote the next day.
“Right in the middle of the jungle” he said, “Not on the coast, not on the beach…up the hills, in the jungle”.
I was intrigued.
As beautiful as Samara is, I had been there for almost three months at that point. And while I explored other beach towns on the peninsula, and enjoyed the maritime jungle all around, I hadn’t really experienced the real jungle of Costa Rica, and with my one-way flight to Mexico coming up in less than a week, this was too much of a great opportunity to pass on…
“Can I tag along?” I asked. “Seguro! Salimos por la mañana!” he replied with a big smile.
Easiest decision making in history. Brilliant!
In the end, we didn’t leave in the morning. We were a tad hungover after one too many cervesas at Limey’s the night before. These days I pretty much don’t drink anymore, but I still remember the hangovers from a night at Limey’s…
It’s one of those chilled and happy bars that make you feel like hanging out and forget all your worries. It’s a “happy people bar”, if you know what i mean, and I’m looking forward to visit it again – for a Heineken 00 this time – on my next visit to Samara. If you’re in town, check it out, it’s in Via Arriba, on the corner with the small side road that takes you to the ATM.
Back to our story.
We left in the late afternoon, when it wasn’t too hot to be on the road.
On the road…!
San Francisco de Coyote is situated at around 45 km from Samara if you go via the Ruta Nacional Secundaria 160, which is the one shown on the map above. But we got off from this route at some point as Pablo wanted to show me Rio Jabillo mangrove river and we also stopped at Playa Coyote before heading towards the hills, as I wanted to see why it’s such a treasured spot to Tico surfers – more on that in a minute.
Anyways, this added a few kilometers to our ride, which by the way, were totally worthy.
Either way, even if you stay on the main road, expect a very bumpy ride! And a spectacular scenery all the way!
Bikes are a good vehicle of choice for that kind of terrain. But if you go by car, get yourself a 4X4 – yes, again!
And, if you go by bike, make sure you have as many helmets as you have heads on board!
In our case, we didn’t.
Pablo was traveling solo and hadn’t planned on having a companion on his trip to San Francisco de Coyote, which meant that “yours truly” enjoyed a wild helmetless ride! And I tell you, I knew I was breathing in some serious amount of dust from the dirt roads, and I knew it was getting it all over my arms and legs and hair, but boy… nothing had prepared me to what I saw in the mirror when we arrived at Pablo’s friends farm…!
I looked like something that’s been buried alive for a while… After the shower there was still a staggering amount of dirt seemingly glued into my pores and hair. The picture doesn’t make it justice, really.
That’s not my skin tone. That’s dirt.
We couldn’t stop laughing!
And just for the records, Pablo DID offer me the helmet, but we both knew he needed it more than me, as he was the one riding the bike and he needed not having sun and dirt getting in his eyes.
So I knew – more or less – “my fate” when I invited myself to the trip, as well as when we got on the road the next day. It’s all on me, and trying to comb the sand out of my hair for the next week was kind of hilarious anyways, so: totally worthy!
That said, you guys, if you go by bike, get helmets!
Also, get gas in Samara as there’s no gas station on the way to San Francisco. And if you plan to arrive in the evening like we did, pack food and water and bring them along.
Places where to buy food are very sparse around this whole area, there are a couple of restaurants, a grocery store, and a gas station in the center of San Francisco de Coyote, but if you arrive after 4 Pm, you’ll find that everything is closed, so be prepared.
We made a quick stop at Playa Coyote, which is not touristy at all. It’s not a developed area, it’s calm, peaceful, pristine. Here you’ll find the more advance local surfers rather than any other type of beach-goer.
An Awesome and Secluded Surfing Gem!
In fact, this is a really good surfing spot.
If you read my previous post on Samara, you might remember that Samara is not really anymore a place for big waves due to a tectonic plate moving over another in 2012 which changed the landscape of the bay by creating a sort of barrier between the open sea and the bay, which means that there aren’t big waves, not even at high tide times.
But, Playa Coyote is a whole different story!
This is actually a very well-known spot for local surfers as both, the north part, Playa Costa De Oro, as well as the southern section, Punta Coyote, offer beach breaks and reef breaks. Here you’ll find both, right and left waves, coming in. The average wave length is somewhere between 140 to 300 meters, and they’re pretty consistent during dry season (December to late March).
And that means: fun!
I came back here by car the day before leaving for Mexico, and it was the best surfing day I had in all my time in Costa Rica! Also, like I mentioned before, this is not at all a touristy spot, so the area is remote and empty, which means you won’t find a crowd in the water. Always a plus!
Just keep in mind that there’s no surf rental place, nor surf schools here, so bring your board with you.
I was told that there’s a beach restaurant on the north side that rents out boards, but as I had my own I didn’t investigate, so unfortunately I can’t confirm.
Also folks, keep in mind that these currents are very strong, so you should only surf here if you know what you’re doing as a surfer and as a swimmer. It’s NOT ideal for beginners!
Between jungle and tropical forest…
The way from Playa Coyote to the farm was a literal jungle safari!
I’m talking a dirt road that turns into a path that turns into a swamp – which reminds me, waterproof shoes! Yeah! – and then the swamp turns back into a skinny path through low hanging tree branches and bushy plants with huge leaves, to finally go back to its dusty dirt road state when going up the hills. It’s amazing!
You can expect to see a lot of wildlife and real jungle all around you, and while the thought “Huh… are there crocs in this swamp?” will definitely cross your mind at one point or the other, you’ll be too happy and amazed by the beauty that surrounds you to really worry about anything at all.
Up the hills there are a few little farms, all family run. They’re very sparse and surrounded by tropical forests. It’s incredibly peaceful here, being far away from any type of touristy location.
Most of the farms have a guesthouse on some nearby part of the forest, that they rent out to travelers, but mostly they’re used to host family friends who come by to visit and to spend some time in nature, away from everything.
Pablo’s friends are the nicest people in the world, super welcoming and kind.
They had five incredibly friendly dogs and a kitten that seemed to bossy them all around! I could have easily spend a whole week there. So genuine, so unpretentious…
If you’re going to San Francisco de Coyote or Playa Coyote and you have some time to travel around this area, I recommend you stick around for few days, and get to know the locals and those rare few expats who chose to live their Costa Rica dream around these parts of the country, rather than in busy fancy beach towns like Coco or Tamarindo… You won’t regret it.
Weiss Cooper