Day 7

Playa Dominical

Playing in the black/brown sand

We caught the 8AM bus to Dominical today for the beach.  It was a 10-15 minute ride costing us 3000 colones, about $6.  Compared with our last bus ride we were packed lightly: one bag with towels, and one with water bottles and emergency snacks.  The town is a surfer dump.  There is no other way of describing it.  The road to the beach is paved in some places, and dirt in others.  The shops are nearly all bars, although there are an intermittent surf shops with a crowd of over-sunned and surf-happy men.  Nearly everyone visible is male.  There is one hotel/restaurant which is off a side street and is an exception, but it also seems out of place, with its perfectly paved walkways, pristine crystal clear fountain pool, and large airy restaurant bragging Italian style pizza.  Guess where the kids wanted to eat.

Rough Pacific surf

After applying lotion and swimming for about 1 1/2 hours on the black sandy beach covered with the holes of ghost crab burrows, and swaths of drift wood mixed with coconut palm detritus and occasional garbage, we wandered off for lunch.  The large pizza was medium sized and cost $18.  But our bellies were now full enough to wait until we could find some less expensive fare, and we took the time to wander over to a row of market tables covered in all manner of handcrafts and souvenirs.  After buying and bargaining for some local crafts, we found a soda, the Costa Rican name for a small family owned cafe, and ordered empanadas, our newest favorite Costa Rican food: 2 cheese, 2 bean, and 2 potato.  They are very much like knishes.

With two hours before our bus would arrive to take us back to Finca Ipe, we returned to the beach and reapplied sunscreen.  This would be a good time to tell you about the water. It was quite warm, probably 75 degrees Fahrenheit and very powerful.  Tour books, locals and prominent signs warn you about the deadly riptides, and we could feel their force immediately.  My youngest required constant vigilance- he just wouldn't accept the fact that it could sweep him away.  He had a plan to swim along the beach and escape the grip of the current.  Yeah right.  Although he is correct in the method people are advised to use if they are caught in the rip tide, he was no match for its strength.  On more than one occasion, his legs were unable to keep his balance, and he toppled under.  His siblings and I grabbed him and pulled him to safety each time, and I forced them to stay in shallower water.

Shallow water where the rip tides can't get you as easily

Another thing worth mentioning is the beach dog community.  What a friendly bunch, and all on their own.  Some acted as if they had homes, and others seemed as if the were homeless.  There was definitely a hierarchy among them. It was very interesting to watch the doggiest behavior that I ever watched. All the posturing and dominant and submissive behaviors were not influenced by human mores.  Each dog knew his place, and there was no political correctness about it.  Not once did I see a human with this group of dogs.

Returning on the 2:30PM bus we were hot, sweaty, sandy and sunburned despite our lotion and hats.  The sandy water easily rubbed off the sunscreen.  Note to self: reapply more frequently next time.