Year round conditions on the Mid-Nicoyan Coast

[TicaChica]

Can someone offer me a first-hand descripton of the year-round weather and roads on the mid-Nicyoan coast around Playa Samara/Nosara and inland towards Hojancha?

I’ve read tour books and the like but it seems very vague. Of course, the weather can change year to year, but in general, how rainy is “the rainy season”? Are we talking torrential all-day downpours, months-long overcast and clouds a la Seattle/Vancouver, or sunny days with mid-afternoon showers? I don’t mind extreme heat and humidity, but I like sun and would prefer to be in a location that is liveable year round.

And what are the road conditions like? Are they all paved and passable by a regular car, or does one need a 4×4 and a prayer to make it through?

I was in Samara years ago in mid-March and loved it (heat and all), but my memory is pretty vague and much may have changed.

Thoughts, advice and opinions on these and other living conditions from anyone living and/or traveling regularly to that area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx much,
Marie.

[anneliseped]

Dear TicaChica;

I have spent 3 whole months in the area mentioned; ie. Santa Cruz, Marbella, Paraiso; at 3 different times of the year.
October-November(2000); Yes, it rained most days, but seldom more than 2-3 hours in the afternoon, mornings and evenings(nights) were clear and beautiful … and the garden didn’t need watering while all plants displayed bright, jewel like colours.
February-March(2001); No rain at all, gardens beginning to show a lack of water, fields and hillsides turning ‘gold’ rather than green, but Guanacaste and Matapalo trees were still surprisingly green.
April(2002); No rain for the 4th month. Plants are looking wilted, all roads are dusty and roadside gardens and houses are almost uniformly beige with the omnipresent dust. Housecleaning consists of dusting interiors and watering down exteriors to dampen the dust.
Temperatures vary very little. 38*C – 42*C during mid-day and 30*C-32*C during the night. Rain, when it falls,is warm and soothing, and there is more shade during the green season. The sand on the beaches is too hot to walk on with bare feet but the water of the Pacific is indescribably beautiful and cures all kinds of ills, eg. arthritis is much improved, colds and coughs disappear…
Due to the heat and my passion for gardening, I chose to live elsewhere, in Costa Rica, but the bad and dusty roads cannot keep me from visiting Nicoya several times a year.
AnneLise

[TicaChica]

Thanx AnneLise.

[Author]

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