Seekretspot, Playa Pelada, Nosara

Like any good traveller, I’m a peruser of Tripadvisor. Since we are travelling on a budget, I always want to do some research to make sure the places we go to eat will be worth our while.

When you look up Nosara on Tripadvisor,  the top recommendation is Seekretspot. This little hole in the wall boasts authentic italian gelato, a full coffee bar, an internet cafe, and reasonably priced room rentals. The only trick is, it is notoriously hard to find.

Needless to say, it sounded like an adventure to me.

P1030070Although I had intended to do some research regarding its location, I actually stumbled upon Seekretspot during our adventure over to Playa Pelada. We were wandering aimlessly when we noticed a vague sign in the bushes that said “gelato” with an arrow. We certainly aren’t the kind of people to turn down a delicious cold treat on a hot day, so we followed the sign.

I was pretty stoked when we discovered that the sign was actually directing us right to Seekretspot.

 

P1030072 The place looks more like someone’s home then a Gelateria, but we walked up to the porch anyways. We opened the door, and the first thing we noticed was their amazing a/c. I know, it seems silly, but it is actually hard to find in Nosara! The next thing we noticed, was of course, the gelato. They had all sorts of unique flavours, and they change every day. During our several visits we tried chocolate chip mint, baileys, chocolate, passion fruit, and caramel. Each one more delightful then the last.

P1030071There is one other very notable things about Seekretspot. In my humble opinion, they have the best quality book exchange in all of Costa Rica. As an avid reader, I’m always looking for good books. Unfortunately, beggars can’t be choosers, and I am often at the mercy of whatever lame spy novel has been abandoned by earlier travellers. There are certainly places where you can go for bigger book exchanges, but they often require you to give them two books to take one of theirs. Not a fair deal if you read books at my rate.

The book exchange at Seekretspot is magnificent. Not only do they let you exchange your books one for one, but their selection was amazing. By amazing, I don’t mean huge, I mean really quality books. I must have sat their for 20 minutes before decided which books to finally take. I’m not sure if its just the type of people that Seekretspot attracts, or a magical twist of fate, but either way, I ended up with an awesome book score that will last me the rest of the trip.

So, if you are in the Nosara area, and like to read, drink coffee, eat gelato and go on adventures, check out Seekretspot. I wish I was there now!

What is your favourite flavour of Gelato?

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter:@caketress

Exploring Playa Pelada, Nosara

After spending a week being beach bums in Playa Guiones, Shaun and I figured it was high time to adventure over to Playa Pelada, the next beach over.

There is getting by these rocks!

There is getting by these rocks!

So often in Costa Rica you can walk the shoreline for miles, ending up on different beaches without even realizing it. Here it is a little different. Unlike many beaches, a rocky outcrop prevents you from being able to walk along the beach in Guiones over to Pelada. Although there are ways to get there on the roads, our lack of vehicle meant we had to get creative with our adventure.

So creepily amazing

So creepily amazing

We ambled down the beach one morning, hoping to find a way to cut through the forest to get over to Pelada. We had seen a lot of activity at this end of the beach, so figured one would make itself apparent.Sure enough, we were in luck! We found a trail that took us right through.

Now, here is a little tip about this trail. On the right, you will see a crazy awesome looking abandoned resort. In fact, no matter where you are on Playa Guiones, you can see the top most peak of this resort towering in the distance. Interested individuals often get tempted to hike over to it and check it out. Word to the wise though, as tempting as it may seem to go and explore this eerie structure, there is a pack of wild dogs that live in it. Likely put there on purpose to deflect nomadic surfers from squatting. So, as you walk along the trail just be aware that these dogs are in the area. Maybe don’t carry sausages in your pocket.

photo 1Anyways, we made it to Playa Peleda without any canine conundrums and it was beautiful (although I’ve yet to see a beach here that isn’t.) It’s a small beach with white sand and huge splays of lava rocks all over the shore. One of the rocky area has a huge hole in the middle. When the tide is right, waves rush underneath it, and spurt up like a geyser. I snapped some epic photos of Shaun as he found out about the geyser the hard way.

 

photo 2I then made him take a zillion photos of me so I could try and look like I was conducting the water like Mickey in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. I think we have 20 photos of me holding my hands in the air with nothing happening. (edit: after writing this post, I made us go back to Pelada to re-do my photo shoot. Shaun snapped this beauty first try! I pretty much embody Fantasmic! in this shot)

 

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Sunset at La Luna

There are a couple of bars right on the beach, La Luna and Olga’s. Although we never went to Olga’s, it sounds like a hoot. Lots of people we spoke with in Guiones recomended checking it out. We did pop into La Luna one evening for a beer. A gorgeous place to lounge and enjoy the sunset.

If you are in Playa Guiones for a couple days, tear yourself away from beach bumdum (that may be the best word ever), and hike over to Playa Pelada. It’s a short little adventure, and well worth it.

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter:@caketress