Ginger's Restaurant/Bar... Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste

Ginger's was such a pleasant surprise, I did not want to miss the opportunity to share my evening. I headed down to the restaurant at about 5pm just as the sun was starting to go down. When I arrived the restaurant has just opened and there were very few people there...this soon changed however. Since I was going to the movies at 7:30pm and I did not know how safe it was to walking around in the evening on my own, I thought I would go early to dinner. What a beautiful place...open air concept, very modern and chique...Lonely Planet describes it as more NYC than Costa Rica. To start off the evening I decided to go with my waiter's suggestion of a Mojito...great choice... a nice run based drink with lime and fresh mind leaves. It was still very hot outside, so this really helped quench my thirst. Ginger's menu is made up of various tapas...small appetizer size portions...so to start off with I had the Honey and Thyme Grilled Pear Salad. Delicious....such a great combination of caramelized walnuts and blue cheese, off set by the pear. I can still taste it! By the time I finished my salad the sun had set and the deck area was all lit up by soft moon lights along the perimeter. While I waited for my next tapas, I had a great chat with my waiter. He told me all about the surrounding area...to my surprise he felt that the majority of the large homes on the hillside were owned by Canadians. In fact, the owner of the restaurant is also Canadian...she had it built about 6 years ago. My second tapas of Ginger's Ahi Tuna finally arrived and I was not disappointed. This is Ginger's signature dish of seared tuna...with the perfect amount of pepper to add to the flavour...fruit salsa and ginger salad...amazing!!!! Now a birthday dinner would not be complete without dessert, so I decided to have the Grand Marnier Moccacino....a shot of expresso and Grand Marnier over ice cream, with whipped cream and bittersweet chocolate sauce drizzled on top. It was served in a tall glass with a spoon and a straw... since the ice cream melted so quickly you ended up with a dessert and a drink in one. A great way to finish off a fantastic meal....absolutely perfect!! It is hard to beat celebrating your birthday with friends, but if you have to do it along, this ranked right up there. At about 7pm, after enjoying my meal while listening to a little Eric Clapton in the background, under the twinkling stars of a Costa Rican summer night, I decided to head back to my villa. It was about a ten minute walk and I arrived just in time to see my movie. The movie theatre was not that busy, except for myself and ten other Americans...good lord!!! The Hurt Locker is certainly not an uplifting movie, but it really made you appreciate what you have in life...war is an awful thing. I headed up to my villa to finish off my last evening in Playa Hermosa at around 10pm....caffeine does not agree with me....I was wide awake until about 2am from the expresso!!! I will definitely miss Hermosa Heights and the lovely people here...it has certainly been one of the a highlights on my trip. Off to Monteverde tomorrow. Until then...