Playa San Miguel, Costa Rica
Playa San Miguel in Guanacaste Province/Costa Rica is often described as one of Costa Rica’s most beautiful beaches. Very little new construction has been allowed there, so the essence of its spirit remains intact. You’ll find no intrusive towering condos or gated communities, though the property owners and the municipality continue with years of dysfunction. The rules continue to change, and recently most of the (few) restaurants, hostals and hospitality-related businesses have been closed and/or ordered to be torn down because they were too close to the line or were not given permission for construction or did not have the correct concession. Unless one visits during the holiday season, they will experience the beauty of solitude.
Classic Playa San Miguel, Costa Rica
Pre-sunrise – Goodnight Moon
6 a.m. stroll – Playa San Miguel, CR
Costa Rica’s northern neighbor, Nicaragua offers equally stunning beaches. San Juan Del Sur has always been a favorite little jewel of mine. When I first discovered it a dozen years ago, the front line provided lodging options and many restaurants. The eclectic little grid of streets behind that front line reminded me of a Hollywood ghost town, and I returned to Costa Rica and told my friends that I wished I had enough money to buy the entire town!
San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua – The Colors Slipped in the Sky
Several years later I returned and found that others had discovered its charm, and now it’s a unique bustling community. The town that Vanderbilt established during the gold rush lives on!
San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua
San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
Farther up Nicaragua’s coastline is an area called ‘Limon Uno” and “Limon Dos.” Not the easiest place to reach in the rainy season, the area’s stunning beauty of the beaches rewards the intrepid traveler! Playa Rosada is one of my favorite petite beaches.
Playa Rosada Nicaragua
“Playa Rosada” Nicaragua
Playa Rosada Nicaragua
I asked my friend who lives near Playa Rosada if anyone had ever spotted the skull in the late afternoon.
“Not until you pointed it out,” he said!
Playa Rosada – Nicaragua
Playa Rosada, Nicaragua – Calm Reflections
Playing leapfrog, let’s jump to Cruzita Ecuador, arriving in time to watch the fishermen prepare to leave during high tide.
Cruzita Ecuador Fishermen
Fresh Tuna, Anyone? Cruzita Ecuador
Cruzita Ecuador Fisherman and Family
Cruzita Ecuador
If you’re looking for a beach with lots of people, try Manta Ecuador during a holiday!
Manta Ecuador New Year’s Holiday
Manta Ecuador
Manta Ecuador Morning Run
See more beaches at Where’s MY Backpack.
I’ll leave you with Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches.
Marie and Hank – Playa Tarqui – Manta
Have a good week, everyone!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Now you know I have to reblog this…..you are evil, teasing me with these shots.
Playa Rosada for me, Liza! It has everything I love in a beach on top of being off the beaten track and stunningly beautiful. Gorgeous selections 🙂
Great! There’s an opposite view there at Rosada that’s really special at low tide and dawn.. Unfortunately those photos are MIA! Thanks, I’m glad you liked sweet Rosada!
beautiful and happy mothers day!
Thanks, Gwen y igualmente! Z
Ow Lisa, I’m suffering from Beach Envy!
ha! your weather should be warming up soon! thanks, you made me laugh!
z
it’s raining today in portland, oregon.
i, too, have beach and sunshine envy…exclamation point.
lo siento; i’m sorry that you didn’t have a lovely day! i was lucky to spend mine at that petite little beach near my house, and we had a spanish/english/spanish round of bingo games! it was a unique day!
may the skies clear and the sun smile down on you tomorrow!
buenos noches!
zzzzz
Your pictures like a dream for me…
Greetings from Germany, Petra
hi from ‘midnight-thirty’ to you over there where a new day has started!
i am so glad that the post brightens your day. i am very lucky to have lived by so many beautiful unspoiled beaches!
may the week be good to you!
lisa/z
Thank you so much!!!
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, you just posted this post so I could sigh a whole bunch with wishful thinking, I just know it! 🙂 And guess what? I am! xx
hey amiga
thank you for your kind words, though i am sorry that the post makes you wistful! hopefully you can find your way to some quiet magical place where you are surrounded by nature..
soon!
z
The weather up here right now is wonderful, so I’m doing well. I am gearing up to travel later this year, and am keeping my itinerary open so who knows where I’ll end up! Yes I would greatly enjoy a quiet magical place, in nature, yes indeed. thank you for your caring thoughts, greatly appreciated!
Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
love the palm trees on the beach in Costa Rica and Playa Rosada looks like a wonderful place to explore during low tide,
hey! yes, playa rosada is very interesting at low tide.. there are lots of hermit crabs as well, so if i’m not exploring the low tide area, i am at the high-tide zone in pursuit of hermit crabs with unique shells!
Thanks for the lovely photos, particularly of Nicaragua, a country I know little about.
nicaragua is a very special country. as you can see, the beaches are really pretty, and the people are very kind. isla ometepe is a favorite place of mine; it’s about an hour ferry ride out in lake nicaragua, and it has twin volcanos.. one spouts smoke and one is dormant!
Yep! You are right about that. I have visited all the beaches you mentioned in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Now, to make a trip to Ecuador to see your lovely beaches. I’m ready for a vacation..it’s taken me a week to recover from my latest adventure and catch up on all of my favorite blogs. Thanks, Z for highlighting Nicaragua.
you are so welcome! nicaragua is a great country, and ometepe is one of my favorite places to visit! z
Beautiful images, thank you! I always feel as though I should have my passport ready when looking at your pages 🙂 I especially like the 6 AM stroll, amazing! ~Scott
hey! thanks so much! yes, it’s nice to have a change of latitude every so often.. it’s fun here in ecuador to be in the northern hemisphere one moment and the southern in the next! i live not far from the line here on the west coast!
hi Lisa, the decision to make a 6 a.m. stroll is a good idea – everywhere in the world!
oh yes.. it’s when all of our senses have awakened!
oh yes.. it’s when all of our senses have awakened!
What wonderful images! Our ice is gone, ferry is running, and beach season will be here soon. It is a short, precious season compared to yours! Thank you!
how great that the ice is gone, and you have a great season to enjoy the outdoors! have fun with your beautiful summertime!
Z, I think I am ready to move. Great scenery and well captured by your lens. BTG
i don’t miss the cold winters at all, but i do miss the long days of summer! after a while one adapts, and after a hard day of work outside, one is ready for an early evening and easy sleep!
the 12 hours/12 hours disciplines us to balance the physical work day with time indoors…
My vote goes to Playa Rosada, too!
how great! my friend will be delighted that ‘his’ little beach is so popular!
z
Wow…
this has happened before; i opened your post, then checked the notifications, and there you are! thanks! z
NIce beach photos Lisa. We spent a couple of weeks in CR and it was great. We were more interested in the Rain/cloud forests, but we did stop for a few days on the west coast, and it was lots of fun. I’m a big Delbert fan, and this is the perfect song for the post. ~James
hey
the cloud forest is a beautiful place, and i’m glad you visited the dry rain forest as well.
next month i’ll be going back to the mindo(ecuador) cloud rain forest again and look forward to the visit.
i’m glad you enjoyed the song!! z
Oh, you have some seriously beautiful photos here of some seriously beautiful beaches…
hey! thanks, yes, the beaches are very beautiful! i’m lucky to have spent so much time on them and around them!
lisa/z
Goodness, Lisa, I love the beach and can’t wait to visit some of Ecuador’s finest. Great images, my friend.
Hugs,
Kathy
thank you! i look forward to ‘seeing’ cuenca through your posts! you are surely loving the fresh flower market, the abundance of fruits, vegetables and grains, spotted quail eggs, etc!
and that blue-domed cathedral isn’t too bad on the eyes either!
z
You surely live in paradise Lisa. I think only some one that takes time to really look would see that skull.
it will be interesting to return and see if erosion has altered that skull image. or perhaps it can only be seen during a certain season, based on where the sun is located!
Jack has a great eye for seeing things others don’t. I think it is an artistic thing 🙂
The skull is certainly something!! But those beach shots are gorgeous. I love the Playa Rosada shot!!
yes, playa rosada is a sweet photogenic beach!
i’m glad that you liked seeing the skull image in the shadows!
thanks so much for your comment!
z
Beautiful beaches, great shots. Tony
Playa Rosada looks like a winner. I first visited San Juan del Sur in 1992 and then again a couple years later. Had some great food, and have some fabulous memories. I’ve heard it’s changed dramatically over the past 20 years.
i suspect that you’ll soon get that chance to compare. i’ll never forget when i returned the second time a few years later. that ghost town was a bustling tourist town!
it saddened me that the historic vanderbilt building had been torn down… sigh – they paved paradise to put up a parking lot….
A wonderful collection of images Z. and I did so enjoy the read. Have a great week and I look forward to next post.
thank you! the let’s be wild challenge is ‘beaches,’ and i thought, ‘surely everyone is tired of seeing beach posts!’
i’ll try to find a unique angle!
z
No one can tire of a beach scene as often the readers are landlocked. It always great to find a new angle and it can be really rewarding. Have a wonderful weekend z. Best regards, james
Costa Rica is a perfect destination for people who love beaches and surfing. Costa Rica treasures the most beautiful beaches and beach towns which attracts tourists from all over the world. Before heading to beaches one must thoroughly check the tide charts of Costa Rica for safety.
yes, you are right about safety! the rip tides and undertows claim lives every year.
thank you!
Great photos amiga, I wish I was there just now, now I want to go to the playa!
i’ll bet that you do! it’s a great place of inspiration! z
I don’t think I can pick a favorite…they are all unique in their own way. Stunning pictures, Lisa. Great collection of memories go with them.
thank you! when the beaches are stunning, it’s easy to take great photos! z
These are gorgeous! What an amazing post!
thank you! i am lucky to have spent so much time in so many great areas! z
They are all stunning!
hey! i thought of you when i worked on this post; i have zero images of panama’s beaches! i hope to visit the san blas islands – for their beauty and also to meet the kuna indians on a more personal level.
i’m glad you enjoyed the post!
lisa/z
My kind of place, loved your photos, I am listening to the song. I want to go there jump on that flash bike and explore it looks so good. You show the people in your posts I love that.
thank you jack! i can picture you stepping into the scene and touring the area on that flash bike!
thanks so much!
lisa/z
Someone up above mentioned “beach envy”. Oh, yes – I have it! Our Texas beaches are so, so different. The easy curve of the coastline, the shallow waters, the barrier island – they have their charms, but you can take a photo near the Louisiana line, and one south of Corpus Christi, and only a resident could tell them apart. Even farther south, toward Padre Island, the absence of rivers and a more tropical climate does lead to some pretty vistas and nice sand, but the only rocks and “cliff” we have are our rock jetties!
What amazes me as I ponder your photos is the variety. It’s easy for us to think “The Midwest”, “The South”, “Central America” and lump everything together. But each country has its delights, its treats – and its splendid beaches. Thanks for such a wonderful tour of them!
Thank YOU for your always-insightful comments! Last week I was riding with Xavier through a grown-over second-growth area of their farm, and I said, ‘This could be Mississippi after the spring rains…’ The growth was rank, and limbs brushed past the truck as we went deeper into the farm. The shrimp ponds remind me of catfish ponds, though when we reach the beach, oh no Toto, we’re not in Mississippi any more!
Yes, the beaches are so different, even here in ecuador there are many micro climates, so there might be a classic palm-tree beach in one area, and an hour down the coast an arrid stretch that looks all but sterile. There are rocky beaches and some with endless sand and others with zillions of rocks and others with shells! There’s a beach for every whim!
I remember my shock when I was told (as a child) that Gulfport’s sand was brought in from elsewhere. What?!!! That seemed so wrong even them! Now I read about sand mining, and I wonder what beach suffered b/c of that practice!
I’m off to town for lunch with friends today! Tis a beautiful classic day! Hope it’s a good one for you as well!
Fabulous post Z! Loved all the beach shots!