Part IV Best Places To Eat Shop and Drink In Tamarindo Costa Rica

Good morning, first timers. This is our last full day in Costa Rica and we haven't really

been able to explore too much of Tamarindo proper because we've been going on adventures here and

there. So today we're going to get dressed. We're going to be cruising downtown. First

we got to drop off some laundry because we've been here for seven days and we're running pretty thin

on clean clothes. Then we're going to hit the downtown area, check out some shops

maybe some restaurants but I guarantee you we're probably going to be eating way too much today

Brett the laundry tamarindo is recommended by our Airbnb host so we're gonna drop off our laundry

and hopefully get it done today. And just like that, Bob's your uncle

It's 2,500 colones, so about $5 for every kilogram. And we don't generally operate in kilograms

but for all of our clothes, which was quite a bit, came out to 17,500 colones, so just under $40

But that's going to be hugely helpful because we're not going home after this trip

So you're going to have to stay tuned to see where we show up next. But for right now, we're going to go look for some coffee

maybe some snacks and show you around town. Today we decided to check out a soda. Sodas here in

Costa Rica are family-owned restaurants. They're your best value for food. They sell your basic

typical Costa Rican fare. Meat, rice and beans, some sort of vegetable or salad, plantains

It's really good food and it's really local. David thinks he had one of the best meals here

in Costa Rica at a soda after our waterfall adventure which you can check out right here

We didn't have time to film it because he inhaled his food because he was so hungry and it was so

delicious. We're at Soda El Estero and I'm with Eric and he's going to tell you all about this

restaurant. Hi guys I'm Eric. I'm the owner of the place and we got in here a couple Costa Rican

food buffet style. Three nice fresh salads right here. We got white salads, mixed up pasta, potatoes

and we got some sort of main courses like chicken, shard beef, pork, fish

two kind of rice, beans, and some other cider to choose, fresh made juices, and very healthy food

We got a dog right there, just in case. Hi, hi. Are you guarding the door? Hola

This soda came highly recommended, and I can tell why. The owner is so friendly, so nice

His dog Banjo, he's like the guard dog, but he's the tamest, most relaxed guard dog

Sleepiest guard dog ever. But there were so many options for salads

So for each plate, you get a side salad option, and you can mix and match if you want two half orders of the salad

Then you get choice of rice. You can have white rice. You could have the vegetable rice

Two kinds of beans, and there's three protein options. Then you also get a side. Most of those were vegetables

Now I went with the beef salad, the pico de gallo, the vegetable rice with the black beans

I went with fried yuca and the fresh fried mahi. I got the vegetable salad, the pico de gallo

white rice black beans vegetables and I went with the beef option Every order also comes with a giant glass of homemade drink We both went with the tamarindo because it sweet it a little tangy

it's refreshing, and it's perfect for this hot day. I can't wait to dig in

Well, Terry's going straight for the meat. As always, I'm going with the beef

Nice, refreshing, creamy and earthy beet salad. The beef is super tender

So many flavors in there. But not spicy at all. And that pico, fresh, crisp, delicious

Let's give this salad a whirl. The salad came with a light passion fruit vinaigrette

And it looked amazing. It's really light dressed. Just a little bit of sweet, a little bit of oil in there is very good

The vegetables are all fresh. It comes with lettuce, corn, tomatoes, carrots. Very good

It's yuca time. I'm starting to really, really love yuca. We've had it a few times since we've been here

It's a better tasting fried potato. It's crispy. It's tender on the inside

But man, the flavor is just really good. It's so much richer than just a typical potato

Try these vegetables. not mushy at all, lightly seasoned. It's a good carrot

I think it's a carrot. And the vegetable rice, very clean. It's not over-seasoned or overpowering

This is a nice meal you can have, and you're just not going to feel weighed down, tired, or bloated

And that's exactly how you don't want to feel if you're going to the beach after this. And the beans, delicious

The star of my show is this giant piece of fresh mahi

Terry already talked about her meat but I like to save it to the end but look at that

it's crispy it's flaky it's moist and tendered with like a hint of like a lemon a lemon hit this is this is great

we're gonna crush these plates and then take you somewhere else in a little bit 100% when you're in Tamarindo if you want authentic Costa Rican food for a great price

you gotta check this place out. Talk to Eric, let him know the first timer sent you. Look for her

sticker. It's on the front window. He's a great guy, great food, definitely worth stopping. So Terry

got a wicked bruise on the waterfall tour. I'm not going to show you because it looks criminal

but we're going to check out this place called the Apothecary to see if they have any salves

or creams that'll help her with her bruising. So the Apothecary didn't exactly have what I was

looking for but it's a really cute little shop they've got a lot of tinctures and elixirs that

you take internally for like gut health heart health inflammation definitely check it out if

you're in if you're in town found what i was looking for at the health food store got this

cream is going to help this gigantic bruise that i have if you're looking for any type of health

food anything like that this is a place to go we wanted to show you but they have a strict rule

about no filming no photography but it is a beautiful store they have big bulk barrels of

different spices, herbs, all kinds of organic products. It's a cool, cool store

So go in there, check it out. Got another food hotspot for you. We're going to check out a food truck park in Tamarindo

We're here in the middle of the week and it's in the middle of the day. When we've driven past this place during the nighttime

it's completely packed. There lights going there a stage here where they have bands playing and they have something for everyone there chinese food there mexican food there costa rican food there desserts right now a lot

of them are closed because it's the middle of the week and the middle of the day but if you come out

here i guarantee you'll probably find something that you want to eat we're checking out a more

quieter part of tamarindo it's just outside of the main downtown area it's close to the beach

It's got a lot of restaurants, shops. It's just a little bit quieter, a little more relaxed

Parking is pretty tough down here, but once you get down here, it's great

The water's right here. There's a lot of really friendly vendors selling their wares, a lot of handmade jewelry

and a lot of offers for fishing and catamaran trips. Now, we already went on the catamaran trip, so if you haven't seen that one, check it out

That was a good time. But like Terry said, we're going to just kind of meander the streets

see what kind of shops we can walk into, and then get something to eat. Besides being a tourist location and a great fishing town, Tamarindo is known around the world for a great place to surf

There's a bunch of different beaches, and all the beaches vary in difficulty based on your skill level

You can travel just up and down the beach, and each beach will have a different skill level, different difficulty

So that way, if you're brand new to surfing, you can come out here and really learn how on some gentle waves

but then you can find some bigger waves, a little more powerful at other beaches. They also offer a lot of surf rentals for surfboards, boogie boards, but then they also have lessons here

There's all kind of little vendors down here and also cute little boutiques and shops

There's a lot of really cool shops here with really nice clothing and bikinis

It's really hard not to buy everything I see. I was pretty tempted to ask the price for that crocodile skull

I just don't know the rules about bringing a crocodile skull from Costa Rica back to the U.S

If anybody knows the rules, feel free to comment below because I want a crocodile school

I don't think they're in danger, but if they are, I don't want a crocodile school

Don't cancel us, please. What kind of Willy Wonka plant is this

There's even a store full of my shirts, so I had to get one

Thanks, Harry. This place has everything. They even have a country bar that serves pizza, hamburgers, and barbecue

They also have an air-conditioned area in here, which is much needed right now

I woke up this morning. I was really craving some salad, maybe a fruit

Terry decided to go with the Mondo platter full of meat. It's every animal known to man on this plate, grilled

There's steak, there's ribs, there's chicken, there's plantains, there's grilled fruit. She said she wanted a salad

I don't see a salad here, so we're going to dig into this thing, but it looks awesome

We're out here checking out the nightlife. Even though it's off-season, things are so good and crazy

So we're going to hop into a couple bars. But pro tip, don't wear your best shoes

Wear some sneakers like me because your feet are going to get wet because it wet and muddy

Thank you

We're eating six tacos. I'm so excited. Hi, how you doing

So I've eaten street tacos all over the world. And we're here in Costa Rica, Tamarindo, Costa Rica

And we're checking out their pork tacos. Two for six dollars. We're getting six

That's three orders because I probably want four. Terry's going to eat two

But we're looking forward to this. I have high hopes for their tacos

I can't wait to dig in. Honestly, I already tasted it. So good

We're leaving Costa Rica, but under protest. This has been an amazing week-long trip in Tamarindo, Costa Rica

There's lots of options for food, tours, beaches, surfing, whatever you're looking for

They probably have it if it has to do with outdoors or surfing or tacos. Now, Tamarindo gets a bad rap because it's a party town and they call it Tamagringo

And it is a party town. And you do have all the amenities that you'll find in most western countries

And the prices do reflect that. So if you're looking for a true, authentic Costa Rican experience

you're probably going to want to get out and away from the big city centers and the tourist areas like Tamarindo or San Jose

However, if you're looking for a nice place to relax, surf, and have all the amenities that you'd have at home

Then Tamarindo is probably the place for you Our Airbnb was great We'll leave that information down below

It's super quiet It's got everything you need A little kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, pool, even a cleaning service

You couldn't ask for anything else And it's centrally located So you could either drive to nearby locations and explore

Or it was close enough to Tamarindo City Center where you could take a very cheap Uber ride or taxi ride anytime you needed to get around

I would say most of the people here do speak at least a little bit of English, so it's easy to get around and communicate with people, even if you know just a tiny bit of Spanish

Most of the places here take both the U.S. dollar and the Costa Rican colonies

They also take credit cards at almost everywhere, and most of the places will charge you any U.S. dollar if you ask

We would highly recommend you come out here, check out some of these places, go on these adventures

but when you go there, make sure you let them know that the first-timers sent you. Thanks again for following along in this episode

and join us next time when we try something else new for the first time. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe

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