las terrenas - take 3

our third trip to las terrenas provided us with a new view on the quaint, pretty town. as mentioned in the previous blog entry, the weather has changed here a bit with the waters being rougher and the air a bit cooler. it's still very much beach weather, but now we see more rain and are getting some big waves. the allure of las terrenas is the gorgeous turquoise blue waters, the great food, and the appealing ambiance of the restaurants and bars. this time, it hit for 2 out of 3 of those things.

rather than swims, we enjoyed walks along the beach. on friday early evening, nicole, veronica, and i took a stroll along the beach towards playa coson. the sun was setting over the mountains (lomas, as they call them here), casting a great light on to the beach. we stopped for a while and picked up some shells off the beach. playa bonita and playa coson have some great shells - albeit most small but colorful. here's a shot of nicole and me looking for our treasure:



here are some of the shells we have picked up during our 3 trips out there:



in terms of food, we enjoyed several very good meals. the lunches at casa grande, our hotel, were excellent as usual. we took a stroll past the various restaurants at playa bonita the first afternoon we were there. we stopped in at hotel acaya and had some dessert and coffee.



we enjoyed dinner out at finn bar. this place is run a french guy and is located on the non-beach side of the road in las terrenas. as you're still basically on the beach, the tables are set on the sand. so, you can take off your flip flops and have your feet playing with the sand. this place is all about fish and is where the local expats suggest that you go, if you want the best fish in town at great prices.



on saturday night we went to Flavio Fashion - a restaurant owned by 2 italian gay guys. flavio is one of the 2 owners. flavio is th older of the 2, decked out in some italian designer jeans and a big D&G belt buckle. don't know the name of the other guy. he has a sort of a "fashionable" mullet kind of haircut. he too was wearing some fashionable casual outfit (not very DR). even their waitresses seemed to have picked up on some their fashion - our waitress had given it the old college try with big gold necklace with DKNY letters. we had seen these 2 guys during our previous trips to las terrenas over at palapa bar - apparently they own that cool beach bar/restaurant at palapa. during the day, they are usually lazing about on the beach in front of their establishment. tough life....

back to Flavio Fashion - it is decked out in lots of silver streamer like things attached to the wall, some pink strips too, and zebra striped seat cushions, it was *a bit* much for the eye. this place looked like the room had been decorated for a one-time party and would be dismantled when the night was over. however, this was no one time decoration, this was the decoration. the food was excellent though. it was thea from the el mosquito bar who had recommended that we go there. being italian and all, she was highly in favor of the authentic italian food that could be had there. we did not any pictures there which is a shame. i think we all were a little bit shell shocked by the decor and perhaps did not feel we needed to capture it for posterity sake. don't get me wrong, i would go back there for the food and the scene, as there were some interesting observations to be made here on other tables, the owners milling about, etc.

it would not be a trip to las terrenas without hanging out at el mosquito bar. thea, the italian waitress/personal trainer, remembered us from when we we there at halloween. both thea and elisabeth, the bartender and italian also, were very accommodating, offering us some free hors d'oevres and mixing up some fine drinks. we hang out there both friday and saturday night. we sat inside though as the wind was blowing out on the deck area. here is a shot from there:



all in all it was a very nice weekend. here's a parting shot - a view outward towards the ocean from casa grande grounds.