Puerto Viejo

We spent a week in the southern Caribbean coast in a town called Puerto Viejo, and it felt like a totally different country. It was jungle and beach. Literally the jungle went right up to the beach. The waves were crazy and swimming was only safe in limited areas. The area had an afro caribbean vibe and a whole bunch of back packers. It rained...alot. Oh, and the whole town smelled like marijuana.
Hands down, Puerto Viejo had the best food we've had in Costa Rica. We had two restaurants that were our favorites: Bread & Chocolate and hili Rojo. I don't think it is really necessary to explain why Bread & Chocolate was a favorite...they had bread and well, chocolate, what more could you want. This place was our breakfast/lunch eatery. Great sandwiches and actual real salads. In Costa Rica, people don't really eat vegetables. The normal idea of a salad here is some iceburg lettuce (or shredded cabbage) and a slice or two of a half ripe tomato. We ate our first dinner in Puerto Viejo at Chili Rojo and quickly fell in love - a view of the ocean and probably some of the best thai food I've had. Chili Rojo was good for breakfast and dinner. French toast with nutella, banana pancakes, and fresh fruit with yogurt and granola for breakfast, and thai food for dinner. I'm getting hungry just writing this. The afro caribbean vibe = lots of caribbean food, which = flavor. The typical Costa Rican dish is called a casado. A casado is a meat of your choice (chicken, pork, beef, or fish) with black beans, rice, and one of the not so great salads. While a good bargan (all that food for $3), not much flavor, and they quickly lose their appeal. There isn't much spice to the food, it's pretty bland...I hypothesize that it might be because spices are kind of expensive here. The Caribbean coast, tons of spice! A very welcomed change. Seriously, fatty is hungry now. Moving on....









It rained, and then it rained some more, and then there was a break for yet some more rain, followed by you guessed it...more rain. It didn't seem to slow anyone down, so we didn't let it stop us either...for the most part. We spent one day at the sloth rescue - that I've already written about. One day we drove to a town just north, called Cahuita and walked through the national park there and swam in the ocean. It was about a 7 mile hike through the jungle bordered by the ocean. We saw some sloths, white faced monkeys, and some insanely huge insects. Another day we went for a 16 mile bike ride from Puerto Viejo to a town called Manzanillo. The ride was down the dirt/gravel road connecting the two towns through some more jungley goodness. Other days we went to the beach in Cocles that was considered safe for swimming...mostly. The first day we went, we were quickly stopped by someone that I assume was a lifeguard (there are few places that actually have life guards in Costa Rica. The people that live in Cocles organized to have one on the beach due to the bad rip currents at times.) came up to us and said it was too dangerous to get in the water. When a Costa Rican tells you something is too dangerous...take their word. I haven't gotten the vibe that this is a culture that is too overly concerned with safety, so when they say it's not safe - it's not safe. With that warning, we left the beach, but returned the next day and the beach was marked with red and green flags to signal where it was safe to swim. It is a big surfing area due to the craziness of the ocean.
Despite all the rain, Puerto Viejo was great and is a must if you ever come to Costa Rica.
Oh one more thing, there is a restuarant/hostel place that is absolutely HUGE. We ate lunch there before our bike ride and walked around the place...there is a large area of just hammocks. Like 50 or so, where you can rent just a hammock for the night to sleep in for $5. Or, if you want more privacy, they have tents that you can rent as well for $10. You stay in the tent there, either on the first floor, or they have an upstairs area that are just tents set up for backpackers.