Around Punta Islita, Costa Rica Pacific
From San Miguel to Punta Islita and on to Samara, Carrillo
Driving the 33 km from San Miguel to Carrillo and Samara you will pass through tiny hamlets where you can get in touch with rural tico life. Perhaps you make a break in a village saloon and chat with a local cowboy. Or enter a small grocery story and wonder at their amazing assortment of goods: from food, to chain saws, saddles, clothings, toys, to cigars and computer supplies.
Jungle touching the ocean
Near Corozalito is a landing strip for small aircraft, serving flights to San José. Shortly after that the road steepens and winds uphill in hairpin bends through beautiful, lush jungle. The top of the hill affords breathtaking views across the whole shoreline.
The bay at Punta Islita
Looking north you see a perfect horseshoe bay which is tipped off with a
rocky cliff: Punta Islita. The protected bay of Islita is perfect for swimming.
Driving downhill you arrive at the village of Islita. In 1994 the luxury resort of Punta Islita
was opened and the hotel did more than improving the local infrastructure and providing jobs.
Residents could participate in classes of English, computer skills and arts. Creativeness and
personal development was encouraged and the results of these efforts are clearly visible:
the community of Islita is tidy and relatively wealthy, the village cheerfully adorned with
naive paintings and mosaics. You can visit the local arts museum and maybe you bring home a
unique souvenir of indigenous artwork from Islita.
Landscape near Camaronal
From Punta Islita it is only 13 kms to Samara and the drive leads through gently rolling land with no settlements. A small track leads down to the pristine beach of Camaronal. The 4.6 km stretch of beach which runs into the estuary of the Rio Ora is protected wildlife reserve where leatherback, olive ridley and caret sea turtles dig their eggs into the sand.
2 kms before Carrillo there is one last obstacle to surmount: the Rio Ora
which can only be forded with dry weather and at low tide.
See: Map of the Area with Road Information