Outrageously Sweet Views in Cintsa

Following my first ride on Baz Bus, I arrive at Buccaneers Backpackers in Cintsa. The Buccaneers website is cintsa.com, which says it all — if you’re coming to Cintsa, stay here! It’s a sprawling property with many free-standing structures, located on the opposite side of the lagoon as the main part of town. The beach views are, as the title of this post suggests, outrageously sweet.

Here’s the view from the main lodge deck. I spend hours sitting up here, reading and editing photos and enjoying meals cooked by the on-site kitchen. The wifi is practically non-existent (and you have to pay for it) so I’m forced into relaxation for most of my time here. That’s a good thing!

Since Buccaneers is the main place to stay in Cintsa, it attracts a variety of travelers. As I wrote in yesterday’s post, the first dorm room they assign me is inside a house with evidence of major partying — the whole place is a mess; there are clothes, dishes, and empty drinks everywhere. It smells. And since it’s a free-standing house, I can see how easily it turns into Party City at night. I immediately return to the main desk to ask for a quieter dorm room. With no fuss, I’m assigned to another building that, upon inspection, is WAY more calm and quiet than the first place. It works out great for the two nights I stay here.

Some shots from inside the main building:

They serve a group dinner nightly for a few bucks per person — it’s green curry with rice on my first night, then a sausage dish with veggies on my second. (There is always a vegetarian meal, too.)

Even more space to lounge around inside while admiring beach views:

The kitchen:

You can order breakfast or lunch throughout the day; meals are a few dollars each (on Sundays breakfast is free). We arrive around noon so I order a wrap and enjoy it on the deck.

I dig the muesli with yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

Let’s wander down to the beach, shall we?

I pass by the lagoon en route to the beach. It’s a lovely area protected from the wind by sand dunes.

Kite surfers zip around this lagoon on any given morning. They’re mesmerizing to watch so I sit back and hang out on the sand for a bit while they perform death-defying stunts like flying 50 feet into the air. It’s like I scored a free ticket to a sporting event.

LOOK AT THIS:

It’s non-stop action. What a work-out.

I decide it’s intermission and keep trekking towards the ocean. I’ll be back for the encore, boys!

Once I’m actually standing on the main beach I realize how strong the wind is. The lazy beach day I envisioned — lying on the sand with a book in hand — is more like scrambling to keep my belongings from flying away while getting pelted by sand.

So I veto beach time and cross over the river (which feeds into the lagoon) to access the main road in town. The river is tidal so sometimes it’s hip-deep and sometimes it’s ankle-deep… but since this is my first venture into town and no one has warned me, I am not prepared to encounter high water.

See the dark blue part of the river below? It’s hard to tell, but it’s maybe 2.5 feet deep. I wait until there aren’t many people around, take off my pants, and cross. Then I towel off quickly and put my pants back on… next time I’ll pay more attention to the tidal schedule.

I follow the paved road up from the beach that leads into town. There’s a bar and a very small shop where you can buy food. I’m here to visit the cafe and use its free wifi for customers. Earlier this morning I tried paying for wifi at Buccaneers (I would have happily worked on that deck overlooking the beach) but the signal was too weak to even load my email, let alone update my blog. So I set up shop in this cafe and enjoy brunch — a latte, toast, bacon, sausage, beans, and grilled tomatoes and mushrooms.

After a few hours I head back across the beach. This time the tide works in my favor and the water is merely ankle-deep. And I spy horses!

Here’s a shot of the group dinner offered by Buccaneers — sausage, cabbage with mustard seed, grilled tomatoes, and I think mashed parsnip and sweet potato / yams? It’s all delicious.