“Pura Vida” in Costa Rica – Chapter 5: Gold Coast B&B Is An Epicurean Delight

Gourmet dining seems to be the rule rather than the exception on Guanacaste’s Gold Coast. Whether your choice is a nice bed and breakfast, a fine hotel or a favorite restaurant, you are rarely disappointed. Our experiences certainly bore that out.

The first place we visited was Sueno Del Mar, http://www.sueno-del-mar.com/ a nearby Playa Langosta Bed & Breakfast that would serve you their scrumptious breakfast even though you weren’t staying there, if you made advance reservations. On the recommendations of many we did. And we were not sorry. Sueno Del Mar, translated, means "Ocean Dream", so it is aptly named. (Pic above is Kay, Jim, myself and Kay Lynne arriving at the B&B.)

We were ushered in to an open but covered patio adjacent to the aromatic kitchen where tables were meticulously set for guests. From there you overlooked the placid swimming pool with a view of the crashing ocean waves just beyond and through the trees.

The owners and hosts, Paul Thabault and Nancy Money, Vermont transplants enjoying “pura vida”, greeted us warmly. We were exchanging pleasantries, mostly sharing our home towns and backgrounds, when a lovely Tico server brought us each an incredible plate of fresh-cut, local fruit – papaya, pineapple, banana and a tropical, mandarin-like citrus, accompanied by a natural, refreshing cocoanut-milk drink served in a cocoanut shell with a straw. What a welcome!

The main dish was “juevos con queso”, a delicious locally-seasoned scramble with ample cheeses melted in. They had several local Tabasco-like accent sauces (one or two home-made, I think) which we had not ever tasted before but which worked marvelously with the entrée. For the better part of an hour we reveled in Paul and Nancy’s version of “pura vida”.

With the beach a few steps away, we took a walk out onto the sand following our meal (middle pic was taken from beach side of eating area & bottom pic is Kay Lynne, Jim and Kay with Nancy). I later emailed both of my sons and told them if they ever wanted to take a second honeymoon, this would be the perfect place – total seclusion, indescribable beauty, incredible food and an ocean beach. What else could one want?

I had thought about continuing on in this post about the many other wonderful dining experiences we had in the Playa Langosta and Playa Tamarindo areas at places such as Gil’s Place at Iguana Surf, Carolina’s, Pachango’s (our favorite) and the new Dragonfly. But I think I’ll leave their stories for other posts.

Every one of these restaurants can rival, or even exceed, typical fine dining eateries in the U.S. – and for half the price in American dollars. That made it even more enjoyable.