This is our second two week trip to Casa Banda
http://www.cocr.info the first being in February 2012 when they began the transition to clothing optional. My first trip report with a little background on how it came to be such a great clothing optional paradise is here
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/s...art=1&vc=1. Arne and Bibi have made this a truly remarkable place to stay and is in a great part of Costa Rica. While we love Casa Banda, the facility, beautiful grounds and the fact that its clothing optional, it wouldn’t be the same without Arne and Bibi as hosts.
We flew into Dallas on Thursday Feb 20 and connected on a 10am flight to Liberia. Thankfully, the flight was 30 minutes early. Clearing immigration is a snap and we grabbed our bags and we’re in the cab shortly after 2. Bibi sent us a form to pre-order grass fed meats and eggs from their supplier and they were in the freezer or fridge when we arrived. We also pre ordered organic produce from
http://rainboworganic.cr to be picked up on Saturday. We had our cab driver make a brief stop in Nicoya for our liquid refreshments and other assorted needs not pre ordered. We arrived at Casa Banda in plenty of time to settle in, have a cocktail and watch one of many spectacular sunsets.
We stayed in the apartment called Buena Vista, the biggest of the one-bedroom units. While all of the apartments are nice and nicely appointed, we liked the extra space, especially the outdoor living space.
There are three beaches within easy walking distance of Casa Banda: Playa Pelada, Nosara and Guiones, the closest being Playa Pelada about a 5-7 minute walk south, Playa Nosara, about a 10 minute walk more to the southwest and Playa Guiones a bout a 16-18 minute walk to the southeast. Pelada has two great and very popular beach bar/restaurants, La Luna
http://www.visitnosara.com/restaurant/la-luna or
https://www.facebook.com/pages/LA-LUNA/187210908478 and Olga’s,
https://www.facebook.com/BarOlgas In addition, about a block off the beach is Pepperoni’s
https://www.facebook.com/pages/il-pepperoni/324354620941978We had wonderful meals at all three but remembered from our first trip, the Ceviche at La Luna’s is the best we’ve ever eaten. Well, we had it 3 times and it’s still the best ever.
At the east end of Pelada there is an easy path over a small hill that puts you onto Guiones. It’s about 3 or 4 miles long and very flat with hard sand by the water, which makes for great walking running. There are a lot of people on the beach early mornings doing just that. The really cool thing is this is the surfing mecca of Costa Rica and Guiones in one of the more popular surfing spots. There are small boutique hotels and hostels all around with cheap bunk-rooms. The surfers flock here, stay cheap and surf all day and flock to the beach bars for sunset. There are 4 or 5 surf schools as well if you’re interested in giving it a try. Many of the surfers are expert and it’s really cool to watch. The third close beach is Nosara, which is a deserted beach. The only way to get to it is to cross the mouth of the river at low tide, which is good, as people don’t go there given the easy access of the others. We walked it nude two years ago and did so again this trip.
While there are a lot of touristy things to do nearby, our days were pretty routine. Get up fairly early and head out for a walk on the beach by 7:30. Our favorite beach to walk was Guiones. After about 4-5 miles or 90 minutes or so, we come home to lots of water, shower, a cool swim, bloody Mary, big breakfast and settle in for a day of reading. We were in heaven doing just what we planned….nothing. We relaxed by the pool and read books.
We cooked all of our meals the first week. There is a grill and charcoal in the pool house addition to well-equipped kitchens in your apartment. This was the plan as we didn’t rent a car until the following Thursday. On our first visit, the car sat in the driveway most of the time. It’s so relaxing, it’s really kind of hard to put your clothes on and leave. Plus whenever someone goes to town, they usually ask if anyone wants to tag along or needs anything from the store.
While Nosara is a coastal town, it’s also in the jungle. You hear the howler monkeys really loud in the mornings and evenings. There were days when we were walking to the beach and decided to follow the howls and find the monkeys, which we did a number of times. They are pretty cool to watch in their own element. There’s a short video at the end of the pictures.
The sunsets are absolutely spectacular as well. The sun is mostly unobstructed setting on the water and the clouds that are around, really light up. There are great sunsets from Casa Banda or you can put your clothes on and watch from the beach or just down the road at a sunset bar.
As mentioned, we rented a car, but only from Thursday to Monday. With the car we ventured north to Marbella and had lunch at the TikiHut
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tiki-Hut-Bar-Restaurant/126758607434942 and over the few days dined at La Luna, Olgas’s and Pepperoni’s
Another cool thing we did for our morning walk was a walk through the Nature Preserve
http://www.lagarta.com/reserva.htm which was a great morning walk. We explored this the last full morning and really regretted that in two trips we had just done this at the very end of trip two. We’ll definitely walk it more in future trips.
The last night Arne and Bibi joined us for dinner and they recommended a local place we’ve been by several times never tried. It’s near town and from the road looks like a dive. Once inside, we were amazed how nice it was. It’s called Rancho Tiko.
https://www.facebook.com/RanchoTicoNosara It featured great authentic Costa Rican fare and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and the company our final evening.
All in all, another great trip at a great place hosted by some really great people who have invested heavily in the facility; insuring their guests have a great vacation. During both visits, everyone got along fabulously, with email and contact info shared to stay in touch and coordinate future visits. It’s also worth noting almost without exception, when it’s time for a guest to leave, everyone gathers to say their goodbyes and there are hugs and often tears. You know it’s been a great vacation when that happens.
Prior to visiting Casa Banda, we took our 13th trip to St Maarten in January and have decided we’ll probably not go there next year, rather will likely spend more time in Costa Rica, exploring other parts of the country and ending with a couple of weeks at Casa Banda.
I’ve posted a few pictures (no nudity) and a couple of video’s here..
http://s851.photobucket.com/user/freshair1/library/Costa%20Rica%202014