2018/02 Costa Rica - Playa Biezans |
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Our room was not ready so we were escorted up to the roof where we were sat by the pool and Jacuzzi and given a drink. To the south we had a view of a large sandy beach and a distant tree-covered headland. On the other side we could see a smaller sandy beach and more headlands. It appeared that our hotel was sitting on the spine of a headland (the Punta Quepos), high above the sea and beaches. It was a sunny afternoon, well into the 90s.
Our room was large, with a second king-sized bed folded to the wall, a family-sized shower, and a large grassed balcony which we shared with two other 
rooms. We had chairs and table outside and a large resident iguana, which lay in the tiny strip of shade under the railings. We 
certainly couldn’t complain about the view.
We found out later that the hotel is owned by an American who used to run the Washington press club. The then president invited him to visit Costa Rica. He fell in love with the area around Manuel Antonio and decided to build his dream hotel there. Even now, after expansion, it only has 25 rooms, and the owner still lives on the premises.
We asked at the desk if we could walk to the beach. They looked surprised but gave us directions “down the hill past two hotels, and walk through the forest”. The road was extremely steep and the track a bit rough but we came out onto a beautiful little beach, the Playa Biezans, with forest giving way to sand and a few big rocks. The beach was out of the wind and swells, perfect for kayaks and paddleboards. 
Lounge chairs could be rented by the day for $10 or for 2000 Colóns, about $4, a good indication of a two layer economy. We found logs to sit on for the short time we could stay. The locals were already leaving and darkness comes quickly in the Tropics. It was a slow trek back up the hill and we were sweaty wrecks by the time we arrived.
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Playa Biezans (0.47) |
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According to our booking, we had breakfast and a “single-course dinner” included, so at dinner we had a smaller menu (with a choice of “only” eight dinners) than most of the other guests. A single course of filet mignon, veg, and potatoes was quite enough for me. One of the odd features of the Costa Rican economy was that even if the meal was included we had to pay taxes on it based on what it should have cost. Just a few dollars, but confusing.
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Iguana (0.23) |  |
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I’d put bug-repellant on my hands which were still itchy, but the bugs had simply moved to my elbows which were now also decorated with bites and bumps.