I’m a sucker for animals. In fact, it’s a running joke that I only show affection to horses and dogs. So it should be no real surprise that an entire blog post is devoted to a dog.
Bassam, that is.
The Korrigan Lodge, where we stayed in Punta Uva, is owned by Ingrid and Erwan, who have a dog named Bassam. Bassam’s name appears in many a TripAdvisor review, and when I was looking for a place to stay in the area, I sort of rolled my eyes. No dog could be that great. They must be exaggerating. Throwing in little white lies.
And now I’m writing an entire blog post about Bassam.
(Fodor’s 2015 guide book kindly notes as a con of the Korrigan Lodge “dogs not for everyone”. Fair enough–they aren’t. But he’s the sort of dog that pretty much ignores people who don’t want company and goes to those who do, and not obnoxious or pestering if you are on the fence).
Bassam loves to go to the beach. I know a lot of dogs like to go to the beach. But Bassam loves to go with YOU to the beach. And by YOU, I mean any guest on his property. He waits in the morning for someone to invite him (if you tell him to stay, he does). Then he leads the way, checking back periodically to make sure you are keeping up which you are surely not.
Once on the beach, you (and your stuff) are under Bassam’s care. He watches you, and your things when you are in the water, barking at any passerby that strays too close, and barking at you if he thinks you’ve been in the water maybe a bit too long (or he wants attention). He’s also happy to do a bit of body surfing and rolling in the sand, of course.
He’s also a teensy bit–strike that–very jealous. We had another sweet beach dog visit us. He only wanted pets and to curl up within arm’s reach, but Bassam wouldn’t allow it. It was sweet, even if a wee bit overprotective.
We took Bassam to the beach almost every day. He won us over (sorry, Toasty, we still love you the most of course), and of all the things we loved about Costa Rica, going to the beach with Bassam nears the top of the list.
Thanks, Bassam (and Korrigan Lodge).
