| Accommodation
White Palms is an air
conditioned, 2 bedroom, one bathroom condominium in the fishing
village of Coco, Costa Rica, near the Liberia airport.
There are 2 large bedrooms with teak floors,
one with a King size bed, and the other with a Queen size.
There is also a Queen sleeper sofa in the living room so 6
people can comfortably be accommodated.
The well appointed kitchen includes a washer
and dryer.
There is a phone, cable TV, a DVD/CD player,
and a modest collection of CD's and DVD's for your enjoyment.
Please feel free to bring your favorites.
It is located 200 yards from
the beach on the Pacific Ocean, and it's
literally 20 feet from the front porch to the swimming pool.
The swimming pool is shared by only 8 units,
most usually empty, so you'll normally have the pool to yourself.
The pool and front porch are shown to the left, with the kiddy
pool and main pool. There are 2 portable beach chairs that
you can use here or carry to the beach.
The beach is a volcanic beach, which means that
it's not the bright white silicon sand that some beaches have.
The sand is sort of gray or off white. Coco is the oldest
fishing village because of the protected beach. Due to a point,
there is almost no surf on this beach. This makes for a very
safe beach, especially for the kids, as there's no rip tides
or undertow. The beach is almost 2 miles long.
 Just
25 mintues from the Liberia airport along paved roads is Playas
del Coco, Costa Rica's oldest fishing village and
the area's central hub. Here, the old and the new blend with
a bit of a honky tonky feel. Moored at the left of the 3 km
long beach is Coco's traditional commercial fishing boats:
to the right, a fleet of boats geared to tourism trade. And
in town, old-time sodas and pulperlas coexist with high speed
internet cafes. There are bars and restaurants on and off
the beach offering international and local cuisine. There
are dive shops, along with sport fishing boats that take customers
out daily in search of tuna, wahoo, marlin, and sailfish.
You can book horseback riding or canopy tours at Witch Rock,
or choose to sunbathe the day away on the beautiful volcanic
beach.
From Playas del Coco you can also head out to
Pelonas Islands, Catalinas and Bat
Islands as well, which are excellent sites to spot turtles,
sharks and octopuses in the natural environment.
There is good surfing in
the area, at Witch's Rock or Tamarindo, just a few miles away.
Weather
Coco is located 10 degrees North of the equator,
which means that the temperature is pretty constant year round,
usually being in the 80's with occasional highs in the low
90's and lows in the upper 70's. What does vary greatly is
the amount of rainfall.
High Season - December through
May. Rain is extremely rare during this time, so perfect for
all outdoor activities.
Mid Season - May through August,
and November. During the mid season it usually rains 2 or
3 times per week, usually just showers that don't last too
long.
Low/Green Season - September
and October. It rains a lot. This has it's own beauty, lush
and green.
Safety and Security
Although Costa Rica is a third world country,
it's probably safer overall than the US. Personal assault
is almost unheard of. The security problem is what's referred
to as "sneak thieves", that is, pick pockets and
burglars. With just a little attention you'll have no problems.
It just means keeping an eye on your things, and locking doors
when they're not attended. When you go out, don't take more
money or valuables than you'll need on that trip.
There is a security
guard around from 6 PM to 6 AM.
You'll see his little guard shack right across from the driveway.
The doors and windows on White Palms have bars on them. It's
a bit of overkill, but it's there to intimidate the would
be burglar to go find an easier target, and to add to your
peace of mind. If you lock the door, your valuables are very
safe inside.
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