Terra: Playa Esterillos, Costa Rica

Terra: Playa Esterillos, Costa Rica
Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

Head to nowhere, hang a left at the horses, and you’ll find Playa Esterillos. You’d miss it if not for the ocean at its edges. There are actually three “playas”, West, Center, and East, and the location of all three can only be divined by their proximity to each other. The fact that most people bypass Jacó, a far more developed waterfront destination, is something of a boggle. Jacó has everything that a jet-setting tourist could ask for. Neon and chrome, American brands, and local food dialed down to a deep-fried mess. Esterillos, in comparison, has nothing. And nothing is a good thing.

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Terra: Playa Esterillos
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Esterillo Este arrives after the town of Jacó and before the town of Quepos. Even our tour guide flummoxed at the remoteness of the destination. He drove through Jacó to give us a comparison, since it was easily on the way. One road extends to each of the “Esterillos”, and we found ours by trial and error. A painted bus stop, featuring the name of our hotel, was the only clue we had to the right exit off our path.

From Esterillos Central, the beach extends in either direction towards both horizons. Small homes and local hotspots break the verdant seam between jungle and sand. Palm fronds and bamboo shoots form crude walls between neighbors and serve as a gateway to the open sea. Stingrays ride the surf, shadowed in the clear water, showing off aquatic prowess for awestruck tourists. The minutes drag and the days fly, where a moment at rest progresses into an afternoon of self-reflection.

The sea and the sand don’t care what you accomplish here. Wayfarers pass the time finding seashells, which there are in abundance. Competition is light, and the bounty is plentiful. Rolling waves erase footprints, and nature forgives your intrusion. The hypnotic tides cause a temporary amnesia. Brain bleach from the unhindered sun. Preoccupations are washed out to sea.

Terra: Playa Esterillos
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What little paved roads there are end in sand, which swirls on blacktop with impunity. The salty air, delivering the rapidly rising waves, cools the skin and lulls the body into temporary comfort. The sun is strong, and its easy to forget your vulnerability until the burn sets in. A steep price to pay for the foolhardy or fair-skinned adventurer.

It’s everything that paradise should be, and what little remains untainted by commercialism should be preserved and cherished.

Nature doesn’t need help being awesome, or extreme. This is the Cosa Rica that many miss. Four-wheeling, kite surfing, rock climbing, all have their place. But it doesn’t need to be here. Come to Esterillos with no expectations, no agendas, no itineraries. Don’t force this beach to be something that it isn’t, and you’ll find more than you expected.

Michael Van Etten
LEAF Architect

The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
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