If you are an expat like myself, whenever you find the money to make it home for a vacation you are no doubt completely swamped trying to get in as much face time with relatives and friends as possible. Also, if you live somewhere that lacks whatever food you crave and desire, you no doubt spend hours stuffing your face. Chocolate almond milk, get in ma’ belly! Whenever I’m home, whether it’s from Toronto or a different country, I get pretty stressed out. Sometimes it’s because I don’t want to leave, sometimes it’s because I miss having my own space. So Eric and I decided to head to the beach instead of trekking immediately back to Mouldialba*, and I’m so glad we did!
We arrived in Jaco (pronounced ha-CO) around 1 or 2, and it was sweltering. Even though the beach is where the fun is at, I just don’t think my body can handle the constant humidity. First stop after checking in at the Kangaroo Hotel was to get some eats. We followed the recommendation of Francesca, the Belgian manager of the Kangaroo, and went to Taco Bar.
Although the row of swings instead of bar stools are cute, and quite the novelty, I prefer a more stable perch for eating. We had tacos the first day, burritos (my favourite) the second, and the pita sandwich on the third night. Oh yes, we ate there every single day. The great thing about Taco Bar is that they give you your taco/burrito/sandwich/fish filet, and you get to fill up the rest of your plate at the salad bar. The best part is you can go for seconds, and their potatoes are seriously delicious. I’m not sure what they are spiced with besides garlic and salt, but I couldn’t get enough.
From there we took a walk down to the beach. The weather was a little iffy while we were there, but every once in a while the sun would come out and give me that deceiving “I’m in paradise” feeling.
At this point we were too hot to do much else than nap on the veranda. I tried to read Game of Thrones but quickly fell asleep, until the mosquitoes drove me inside. After an incredibly refreshing dip in the very clean pool, we got ready for our first night ‘out on the town’. We would have tried the Green Room if not for the very loud band playing. I don’t mind music with dinner if it’s a little more ambient background and less ‘I need to shout to be heard’. We went with Pajara Pinta, where I had a very delicious beer called Libertas. I had heard that Cartago has a craft brewery, but have never seen these beers for sale anywhere. They have a blonde (Libertas), a red ale (Segua), an IPA, and a stout. I tried all but the IPA while we were in Jaco, and even got to enjoy Segua and the stout on tap at Los Amigos. I’m not sure how I feel about that bar, but their beer selection was pretty fantastic. Segua is like Tankhouse if you are a Canadian familiar with Mill Street, so not really my thing, but I loved Libertas and the stout. Now to find someone with a car who wants to go on a beer run to Cartago…..
For dinner at Pajara Pinta we shared the hummus, which Eric didn’t care for because he thinks they didn’t use tahini. I think I was in the mood to be impressed with anything because I loved everything I had there. My meal was spinach ravioli with almonds, mushrooms, and onions in a pesto sauce, served in a bread bowl. Why are not more things served in hollowed out bread?
For our after dinner treat we got a cone at Heladeria el Barco. I let Eric choose so we ended up with M&M and Snickers flavoured ice cream. The one really neat thing about Jaco (because let’s be real, it’s no Puerto Viejo), are the custom benches in front of all the restaurants.
Tune in later for more on the Kangaroo Hotel, the Pura Vida Princess tour to Isla Tortuga, and more on restaurants in Jaco!
*See what I did there? The locals call it Lluvialba, because lluvia means rain and Spanish, and it rains a lot in Turrialba. You know what happens when it rains a lot in the jungle? All of your stuff gets mouldy.
A Canadian in Guatemala 