Do I need to know Spanish?

¿Necesito saber español?

The easy answer would be, “No!”  There are many English-speaking people in Costa Rica and if you stay close to the larger metropolitan areas finding an English speaker is rarely a problem. Taxi and Uber drivers, waiters,  store clerks, and guides all seem to have at least a little knowledge and vocabulary of the English language. An Airbnb host told me that anyone who looks less that fifty years old probably has learned the language in school. And with universal primary education most Costa Ricans study English. Which means, even if you’re not fluent in any foreign languages, you will probably be fine in Costa Rica.

That said, knowing the language of your host country is a good way to ingratiate yourself to the locals. We were Española illiterate. Neither of us had studied Spanish in high school or college though I had taken French (which was worthless while living in Texas, as I did at the time.)  But Babel and Duolingo came to the rescue.  We both started a six-month course of each language app, hoping to gain at least a little Spanish competency before we made the transition to Central America.

While our motives were good, six-months is not nearly enough time to learn a new language. We could have studied for a year or two and still we would have been unprepared. Immersion in the culture is the only way to gain proficiency.

Our efforts have not been for naught though—we are getting better.  The expat community where we live has a variety of native Spanish speakers, or second language speakers, and most of the workers speak little or no English.  So there is an immersion affect which though not total, is a good way to ease into the language gently. Mucho gusto!

I realize that I am a language person. I need to be able to express myself—to communicate with others, and to understand what they are verbally trying to convey to me—to be comfortable and happy. There are apps for my Smartphone that help beside Babel.  One is Google Translate.  It allows you to type or verbally dictate into the app and receive a translation either written or spoken from your phone instantly.

While Google Translate can handle sentences, conversations, or paragraphs, I mostly use it to look up words and phrases that I can say to a store clerk, waiter, or cashier. People are pleased to help you if they see that you are trying to help yourself.  If my pronunciation is too bad to be understood, I will show the person my phone app or play the spoken translation for them. 

Works great—almost one hundred percent of the time.

Our Mini Getaway to Samara, Nosara, and Nocoya

The government of Costa Rica is wisely worried about the continued shutdown of the country and its borders due to the Coronavirus. The closure of land borders with Nicaragua and Panama and the two international airports in San Jose and Liberia have resulted in a massive loss of jobs and revenue in the tourist industry from which Costa Rica derives about 9% of its revenue.

The current strategy of the government, referred to as "Hammer and Dance" has been to gradually open the country to inner border travel.  To gradually open the country up they are allowing (even encouraging) tourist traffic by local citizens and expats within its borders. When we heard this, we didn’t have to be told twice. After months of quarantine we quickly planned a getaway to the Nicoya Peninsula about one-hundred-fifty miles north of our home in Puriscal.

Finca Continga Azul 

Our destination was the Finca Continga Azul (https://www.fincacotinga.com/die-villa) and the Nosara Beach Hotel (https://www.nosarabeachhotel.com/) . We had stayed with Michael and Irena’s wonderful finca, (farm and ranch) on a previous trip. Midway between Nicoya and Samara Beach near the tiny village of Cuesta Grande, the finca occupies 150 acres of beautiful, undeveloped land which Michael and Irena have crafted three beautifully made casitas, complete with an infinity pool and everything necessary to set up house for a weekend, a week, or month.

The main house accommodates the outdoor dining area where we were served a hearty breakfast of locally prepared Gallo Pinto, chorizo sausage, fruits from the farm, and breads from local bakers. The ranch has a stable with five horses and miles of hiking through fields of orange trees, coffee plants, and howler monkeys. Unusual and interesting sites along with ocean and mountain vistas are around every corner.

Finca Continga Azul 

Michael and Irena relocated to Costa Rica a few years ago from Germany. They developed the finca for guests and offer building lots for sale for building  your own casita in paradise. We enjoyed catching up with our hosts and hearing about and sharing stories of grandchildren, children, and of course of the impact the Coronavirus has had on their enterprise.

After two days at the finca we drove thirty kilometers to Nosara. What a trip! To say that it was a challenge is certainly an understatement. From Cuesta Grande to Samara is fifteen kilometers of scenic beauty on good roads through the Nicoya countryside. Then the excitement begins. 

On a perfect sunny day we drove through absolutely the worst roads we have been on in Costa Rica—potholes large enough to swallow our car, filled with muddy water which concealed the craters within. At times we were forced to drive ninety degrees laterally to avoid complete washouts in the roadway ahead of us. Since there is only one way into Nosara there was more traffic than we expected. Certainly not a lot, but cars and trucks of all makes and ages, delivery vans, flatbed trucks and trailers; everything imaginable. Most drove reasonably slowly as you would expect given the conditions, but some flew past us at twice our speed.

Several times we said to each other that we would go home by another way—but the only other way was through a mountain crossing that involved impassable rivers and creeks that our car would not handle.

Lunch on the beach at La Luna

After a thirty mile, two-hour cruise, our first stop in Nosara was La Luna restaurant located on Playa Pelada. We were served a lovely lunch of margaritas (surprise), ceviche, and pizza served on the beach. When a light rain shower started we retreated to the porch where we finished before driving a few meters to the most unusual hotel we had ever seen. 

Its website says it all . . . “The Nosara Beach Hotel is the most recognizable landmark perched on a naturally exquisite point between the world-class beaches of Playa Guiones and Playa Pelada on the Pacific Ocean since 1977. Part of the local history as the very first hotel in Nosara, now restored to its original grandiose with whimsical architectural lines and eclectic flavors.” 

Local tourists were just venturing out from the Coronavirus lockdown and few had found their way to Nosara. We were among a very few guests. In the morning we were early beachcombers along both Playas Guiones and Pelada. What a splendid morning it was with gentle, warm waves and a couple dozen guests spread along ten or fifteen kilometers of beautiful pristine beach.

Playa Pelada

After our morning stroll we had café and a traditional Tico breakfast (Gallo Pinto, chorizo sausage, huevos, fruits and bread with preserves.) It was a perfect morning and a perfect ending to a perfect getaway.

One thing you must remember is that travel by car in Costa Rica always takes longer than you would expect because you are never driving as fast as you think. Sometimes it’s because of road conditions, other times it’s because of traffic, but mostly it’s because you are never driving more than 80 kilometers per hour or about 50 MPH. 

On the mountain roads you can expect speeds of no more than 30 MPH.  Google maps listed our trip from Pusical to Nosara as 160 miles with travel time of 5 ½  hours. 

It was close.

Playa Guinoes