Leonie's Last Night - Tuesday 4-14-2009

Leonie told me a couple nights ago that she’s going to leave for Nicaragua on Wednesday. She’s been in Samara since January and has been at Casa Brian for the past two and a half months. She’s looking for a change. She says she was apprehensive about traveling alone again especially since she has settled into Playa Samara, but she has to move on and live for herself again. So, today is her last day here.

I hit the beach twice today. I love living temporarily in paradise. Oh, and Leonie bought me a chocolate ice cream bar before we had lunch together. I love vacation friends. Over lunch, she talks a bit about her upcoming trip, living at Casa Brian the last couple weeks, and Juan who had left the day before.

 

Leonie and your author

Later, Leonie and I have dinner at Las Palmitas where we talk at length about our lives back home. After a bit of silence, I complain that the hostel might be depressing without her around. She suggests I leave Playa Samara and give Montezuma a try. I had considered seeing Montezuma, Cahuita, or Manuel Antonio before leaving for home but I tell her that no place besides Playa Samara is really calling me right now. It's true, too. I have not been in Playa Samara long enough to get tired of it. I still feel at home here. When I read my guidebook, I knew I had to come to Playa Samara. Also, some part of knew that I would happily spend most of my vacation here, once I arrived. I can imagine that even this slice of paradise would get old after a while, but I have not yet reached that point. Manuel Antonio, with its rainforest and reportedly gorgeous beaches intrigued me yesterday, but the feeling passed. I tell Leonie I will probably stay in Playa Samara and visit those other places on my next trip to Costa Rica. And yes, there will be next trip to Costa Rica.

The evening passes quickly, the way evenings to when two old friends meet. We walk back to Casa Brian. Several of her friends in the neighborhood are coming over around 10:00PM and the plan is for all of us to head downtown to a few beach bars. Her friends are late and I'm aslep with my head down on the dining table by the time they arrive. I ask Leonie if she'd be offended if I just saw her off tomorrow. She tells me that's perfectly fine and to get some sleep. Leonie and her friends disappear into the warm, humid night.