Palmar Beach, The Unit
The unit is part of a 6 townhouse development at the end of a short lane (6th North) on a small river with a great Quipo tree at the end. Built by a Canal pilot who still has a unit and visits often, it has a live-in watchman/gardener, Victor, and a small pool and a thatched cabana with hammocks. Sealed off from the outside with a chain-link fence (razor wire on the back). Parking is out of the gate with a motion-sensor light. The guard has a tiny room to live in next to the gate.
I have the end unit with the most privacy. No real view and it is too far from the beach to hear the waves. From the balcony, across the river towards San Carlos, I can see the town cemetery. The view is of the grounds, the beautiful bougainvillea hedge in full bloom. There are large jungle trees and palms, but no view of other buildings. Perfect for me.
Entry is through a slider rather than actual door. Downstairs is kitchen, living/dining, a bedroom/office and bath. Back door to small porch and washer/dryer. The fence faces another beach house with a pool and large grounds. Upper level has two bedrooms and baths and a storage closet with extra towels and sheets.
The master bedroom has a balcony. It catches the dry season breezes, so I can avoid AC if I leave things open. Much better to hear the life around me. Nice little kitchen with bad lighting, 3 burner gas cook-top, and small but adequate refer. Okay selection of pans & implements (but I had to buy my own omelet pan). Good selection of plates, cups & glasses. Large couch & big flat screen. Good internet & wireless. Nice bedrooms with good beds, but funky closet slider doors and no chest of drawers in the master bedroom. Good hot water with an electric on demand that works well with a short wait.
Life
There is a magic time in the evenings & early mornings which blows open the senses. Evenings have switched between alternating intricate choral work of cicadas, frogs, dogs and weekend distant amplified techno driving beat of music which only faintly resembles the country rhythms of the rural past. The occasional fireworks. Daytime twittering of school kids at recess across the river in San Carlos.
A flock of green parrots cavort raucously, dodging a screeching pair of hunting hawks while chattering flocks of the smaller green parakeets zip everywhere providing a running background commentary. In the evenings, the ever present geckos bark and chuckle as they roam the walls hunting bugs to feast on.
There is a bougainvillea hedge in full bloom with a trio of tiny yellow butterflies continuously attending the blossoms with incidental visual contrast. The fallen blossoms carpet the lawn and float on the surface of the pool- granting full employment to Victor, the watchman-gardener as he dutifully rakes them from the manicured lawn & dips them from the pool. I love to watch the blossoms dance in spirals in the dry season breezes which move the heat from baking to wonderful.
The clouds now are purely ornamental. Not a hint of moisture in them. Pure white puffery driven by prevailing northerly winds from the Caribbean, raked of any moisture by the low sierra of the continental divide and across the parched Arco Seco and out into the Pacific.
The beach is a swirl of volcanic black sand with a shore break at high tide. Surfers wait for small rides. This beach is quiet during the week. In the distance rise the condo towers of the fancy beach communities to the east. Great for cooler evening walks as the sun sets and then a meal at the local hotel restaurant right on the beach (one of the few).
It is good to be in this place at this time. To be in a place so filled with life and color. So alive.
It is good to have time to get to know the rhythms of this place. To find its pulse. To find out how it works. To see it in action. As it is.
RSI Solutions- Lodging
The Pacific Beaches offer a variety of experiences. This is one example of life at Palmar beach. RSI takes the hassle and worry out of finding a good base lodging for exploring the area.