This is not your typical resort!
I spent one week at Tai Nuare as part of a three week vacation through Costa Rica and Panama. The week before I arrived at Tai Nuare, I was at a Parador, 5 star resort in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, and coming from Parador to Tai Nuare was the perfect contrast, because it made all the unique attributes of Tai Nuare that much more special.
For example, unlike Parador, which was built to host thousands of guests, Tai Nuare is not accessible by anything but boat. Since we arrived by land, we chose to get picked up at Almirante Port, where Sabiedro, our guide, came and picked us up. Then we arrived at the island and realized that we are the only people around for miles, it’s completely isolated except for the occasional canoe that would pass by our bungalow.
The island itself is so big that when we arrived the first thing we did was explore our back yard. There were tons of palm trees around and so I tried to get a coconut down. After struggling myself, Sabiedro showed me the proper way to cut down and chop open a coconut. Needless to say I pretty much always had a coconut in hand for the rest of the trip after that.
Then we explored inland and found a lake with nature paths all around it. Unlike the paved paths at the resort we were just at, these were true nature paths with minimalistic bridges when needed. The amount of birds that live around this lake is crazy. We also spotted a crocodile in the lake, which was a terrifyingly awesome surprise (terrifying only because I was debated a swim).
When we eventually returned to the bungalow, Sabiedro asked us what we wanted to do. Overall, I’m a very active person, so I was really excited to hear that there was surfing, snorkeling, and biking around the different islands, but that day we just decided to hang out around the bungalow and explore the island, which had lots of reefs and fish right off the deck. Then later at night we went into town to a nice seafood restaurant for dinner.
Over the next few days we spent most of our time snorkeling, spearfishing, and beach bumming. Sabiedro showed me how to use a harpoon and I literally spent 8 hours a day in the water practicing my new favorite hobby.
One day we went out to Red Frog Beach and stayed out past dark without flashlights. Sabiedro came out to find us before we ever realized that there was no way we were going to find our way home on our own, and he saved us from a scary walk through the rainforest in the dark.
On our second last day we went to the local village, which is still one of the best experiences of my life. The people there were very welcoming. They showed us how they dance, make chocolate, medicine, clothes, and cook over an open fire. Sabiedro told us stories of how he used different medicines to heal people from things like snake bites and diarrhea.
At the end of the tour they served us lunch, which was the most authentic meal I’ve ever eaten in my life, and it was absolutely delicious. Our food was served in gourds and they gave us a spoon, but I think we were supposed to eat the fish with our hands. Half the stuff we ate I had never seen before, because they were roots native to the island. Our drink was like chocolate milk made with water instead of milk and was considered a spiritually sacred drink because of the healing properties of the cocao. And for dessert we had mashed bananas, but it was a type of small banana that I’d never seen in the States before.
To some people, going into the rainforest and eating food that you’ve never seen before totally freaks them out. They’d rather eat at a resort and walk on the paved road, and that’s okay, but if that’s you, then book a resort, not Tai Nuare.
I loved this place because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in the 40+ countries I’ve traveled to. I will always choose the less beaten path and so the castaway experience was just what I needed.