Christmas in Uvita

Trip Start Dec 17, 2006

Trip End Jan 17, 2007

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Where I stayed

El Toucanet Lodge Copey

(Copey hotels)

Flag of Costa Rica Uvita, Costa Rica
Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Dominical is a surfer´s dream, and although we really loved the easy beach access, the copious and friendly local dog population, and the banano con leches at Soda Nanyoa, the sheer number of dudes was a little suffocating. This was brought to our attention early on in our visit when we were stopped just in front of our hotel by Randy from Indiana, who announced to us, "Dudes, this rum and coke mix is the shit for fixing a hangover!" It seems like an odd opening statement for a family traveling with a baby, but Randy didn´t seem to have really sharp observational skills. Maybe he needed another rum and coke. So we stayed in Dominical for one night (although we missed the Friday night disco at the San Clemente Bar; sorry, dudes), and traveled on to Uvita.
To call Uvita a small town is a misnomer since it´s actually just four buildings and one gravel road bisecting the highway. To it´s credit, though, one of those buildings was home to a life-sized mechanical Santa Claus who danced and sang "Rockin´Around the Christmas Tree" in the sweltering 85 degree heat

Ani playing with some of the Toucan Hotel's pets

. We stayed in Steve´s Toucan Hotel which is now owned by Trey and his two young sons who hail from California. They were very warm and welcoming, but it was the other members of their family that really made Anikah a happy pumpkin: two dogs, two cats, and two teeny tiny bunnies. The fact that we had a fabulous clean room with air conditioning (!!!) and one of the best hot showers I´ve ever had while traveling meant nothing to our budding veterinarian (or taxidermist; hard to tell her intentions at this age).
On Christmas day, Libby and I went on a boat trip to look for the humpback whales that migrate along this part of the coast from December to April, but we must have caught them while they were opening presents because not a humped back did we see. Still, we had some good snorkeling and I got to float along in the water for a while pretending I was a crocodile, so the day was still enjoyable. Phil took Ani to the swimming area near the local waterfall, where she apparently clung to him like a barnacle in the waist-high water. This is the same child who had to be physically restrained from throwing herself into the pounding surf in Dominical. She´s funny, that´s for sure....
The hotel is great, and I would recommend it even if Trey hadn´t put together a huge potluck dinner for Christmas and invited not only the hotel guests but also Ticos from Uvita and the nearby town of Bahia. It was fabulous! There´s no replacement for spending Christmas with all of your loved ones, but this was the best substitute we could have asked for. It is with still-full stomachs that we roll ourselves out of bed to catch the 6 am bus to San Isidro. Goodbye, wee Uvita! Goodbye, small animals still hurting from Anikah´s exuberant love!