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Costa Rica Day 6! Tamarindo Beach, Surfing, Dinner Out!

Posted at 12:18 pm by taryngirl, on September 27, 2024

7/5/24

We woke up to this amazing view! It was so peaceful at 7:00 a.m.

We weren’t quite ready for breakfast yet, so we decided to take a stroll on the beach until the other families were awake. Our sleep schedules were STILL whacked out!

Walking from our room out to the beach:

30 minutes later, the sun was coming out! We hadn’t seen it very much so we were soaking it in.

The view looking from the path towards the resort rooms and pool:

There were so many interesting shells on the beach!

This was low tide. You can see some rocky formations in the water that you can’t see during high tide. This was important to know if swimming!

Looking back from the beach to the resort:

That white wall is what separates the private property of the resort and the public beach.

Looking back at the resort and this is to the left:

These ladies set up on the beach to give 1 hour massages for $35. They were nonstop busy! They must be good because they consistently had patrons!

I spotted a giant iguana!

It was almost 8 a.m. now and we were getting hungry. We decided to head back to the resort to the complimentary breakfast buffet.

This is outdoor seating for either the bar or you could bring your food here. It was right next to the beach.

FRESH MANGO! I couldn’t get enough of it! And of course my rice and beans.

After our delicious breakfast, we went to get some seats for a beach day. You could go horseback riding right on the beach! You could just approach the men with the horses. I’m not sure of cost, as we didn’t do it.

Another funky shell my daughter found!

Such a variety!

The view looking up from my chair:

Here you can see the chairs that were available. We did pull them up closer to the wall. It was very hot and humid!

My girls knew they wanted to take some surf lessons, as Costa Rica is a very popular surfing spot! We didn’t book anything in advance, but there were several vendors right on the beach or on the street right next to the beach. We gathered pricing from a few different places and ultimately decided to go with Iguana Surf. These four participated in a small group. Everyone was given a rash guard to wear and they were matched up to the correct size board. There were lockers to lock things up, showers, changing rooms, and water.

After everyone had their boards, we headed back across the street to the beach. There were 6 total people in the group. Completely by chance, the other two participants were in the cooking class that our family did when we were back in La Fortuna!

This was the area on the beach where the lessons took place:

They had some instruction before they entered the water.

Everyone was able to get up and catch a wave multiple times!

At some point my oldest daughter’s nail got ripped off. So she had to make a visit to the lifeguard station.

The solution was putting bandages and then a rubber glove on top.

In total, the session was about an hour long.

We thought it was fun and well worth the money! There were also stations that would just rent you the surfboard for the day if you didn’t want lessons. The lessons were helpful though.

After surfing, we went back to hang with with the rest of the family on the beach. It started raining again…surprise!

We decided to head for cover at the resort restaurant and grab some lunch.

Tacos:

Grilled Chicken:

Pizza!:

Everything was delicious!

Since it was still raining, we decided to chill here for awhile and eventually started playing cards. It was a lazy afternoon.

We were going out for dinner in the town. This was the view while leaving the resort!

Our group!

Patagonia Argentinian Grill & Restaurant was just a five minute walk from the resort. I did make reservations through Facebook since we were a large group, and they were very easy to work with.

We started with some bread and drinks.

(The restaurant was open air! They did have several fans going though.)

This was SO FUNNY! My father-in-law ordered the Provoleta (grilled provolone cheese), and he doesn’t really like cheese! He thought it was going to be like mozzarella sticks and was pleasantly surprised when this arrived:

It was a HUGE portion and I think everyone got a dip in.

I was ecstatic when I saw empanadas on the menu! Of course I ordered one!

This was SO GOOD!

Here are a a variety of steaks and sauces:

We were celebrating my father-in-laws birthday! The staff at this restaurant was amazing. The food was delicious. And I would highly recommend if you are in the area!

Overall, our day was perfect. A little bit of beach, surfing, hanging with the family, and a yummy dinner. We weren’t going to let the rain ruin our time!

Posted in Costa Rica, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Beach, Costa Rica, family, Surfing, Tamarindo, travel

Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, Embarkation Day in Miami!

Posted at 5:36 pm by taryngirl, on May 16, 2024

2/4/24

I was so honored to be able to attend my agency’s Agent of the Year trip this year, which happened to be a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. I joined 9 other fabulous agents from my agency, and we had a blast!

I flew Frontier Airlines into Fort Lauderdale on February 3rd, and got a hotel in Aventura area. We found flights for $105.00 round trip plus $100 for checked luggage. So $200ish for a roundtrip flight was not bad at all! Flying into Miami airport was much more expensive! And the drive to Miami isn’t that bad. We lyfted/ubered everywhere. The hotel was a Residence Inn and it was very nice. It was in a great area and was very clean.

Our original boarding time was 10:30 a.m., but prior to the cruise, we were notified that our time would be pushed back one hour due to a Coast Guard inspection. We took a Lyft from our hotel to the port, which was about a 40 minute drive time with traffic. We were at the port by 10:55 a.m.

Since we were staying at different hotels, we decided to just all gather together once we were on the ship.

There were multiple ships departing today, so there was a lot of traffic right at the port. There she is! I have only previously cruised on much smaller ships through Royal Caribbean.

Our Lyft driver dropped us at the port, porters immediately grabbed our luggage (Be sure to tip them! They are not cruise line employees!), and we were on our way to the line to board.

Because we were staying in a 2 bedroom Grand Suite, we had special embarking procedures. There was a separate line for check-in where I had no wait at all.

I did still go through security screening but there was no line! (This is the main area screening as I was passing through.)

Main check-in area:

My check-in area was actually in a lounge! There were tons of seats, refreshments, and a few staff members with ipads to check us in.

I was on the ship within 15 minutes!

Every other cruise I have ever been on, I’ve entered into a big atrium. Not on this ship! It put us on deck 5 I believe, on the track that runs around the outside. This was kind of awkward to me. I found my way inside and was greeted with a mall-like setting. Seriously…it was a mall inside! This was the Promenade, filled with shops, eateries, bars, and more!

We would end up spending a lot of time here:

If you didn’t prepurchase a beverage package, you can do so onboard. I recommend purchasing in advance though because it is usually less expensive. There are specials throughout the year, and if you ever see the price go down, you can cancel and rebook.

We would also spend many late evenings here!

Another complimentary eatery on the Promenade deck:

Here were some of the offerings for lunch upon boarding:

So I forgot to mention that when we woke up in the morning, we were issued a tornado watch, and severe flooding rains… We lucked out and made it onto the ship before it even started raining. However once we got onto the ship:

The plan was to meet at the Schooner Bar, but that changed to the Suite Lounge on Deck 17. The Suite Lounge had snacks, beverages, a bar, concierge staff members, and lots of seats.

After we all met up, we had lunch in Coastal Kitchen. A restaurant only for suite level guests. This was a nice change from the buffet that I normally eat upon boarding a ship.

Today’s lunch menu:

I present to you, the best rolls ever. They call them “soft rolls,” and they are amazing!

My appetizer was from the kid’s menu….Vegetable Crudites with ranch dressing.

These were good!

My entree:

Spaghetti All’Arrabbiata–al dente pasta tossed with a spicy garlic-tomato sauce and parmesan cheese

This was yummy, but spicy! It definitely had a little kick!

My dessert:

Dark Chocolate Cookie served warm with vanilla ice cream

This was the best thing I ate the entire week! It was SO GOOD I wish I ordered three.

After lunch, it was time to head to our stateroom! I was so excited, because I mostly sail in inside cabins. One time I had a balcony, but this was a 2 bedroom SUITE!

Here’s a full tour:

This suite had a large sitting area, with a couch that folded down flat into a bed. We also ordered a rollaway cot that we put up against those windows, and just moved the chairs.

One of our balcony doors:

This tv and storage are to the left in my photo above. There was seriously so much storage in this cabin!

This was the room I stayed in. You can see the two beds that fold down from above. This room got super dark which I love!

Here you can see with the bed pulled down:

The desk area and some storage in my room:

One of the bathrooms:

I spent a lot of time on this balcony throughout the cruise! Working, napping, watching…it was so spacious!

The view of the port from our cabin:

After checking out the room, we decided to head to the promenade and check out Globe and Atlas Pub. (You can find signs like this at all of the elevators.)

(Beverage Package? These are included!)

We then did some more exploring including the casino and the theater.

Believe it or not, it was soon time for dinner! I was eating in Coastal Kitchen (reserved for suite guests only). I forgot to take a photo of the menu!

Caesar Salad: