Puerto Viejo: "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ~St. Augustine

Puerto Viejo:
Distance: 130 miles

Travel Time: 5 hours

Mode of Transport: Bus

Accommodations: Rocking J's Hostel (Hammock)

I apologize for the lack of posts the last few days. Blogger was down from Wednesday night to Friday and then I was traveling! Now I'm back and ready to share my second adventure.

Ruth Ann and I left San Jose on our way to Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean Coast, at 10 am on Friday morning. We met a British chap :) named Chris who we made friends with and ended up spending the rest of the weekend with.

Friday night we explored the beaches and the... interesting hostel we stayed at. It is the most famous hostel in all of Costa Rica. My bed was a hammock, which cost me a ridiculously large amount of money, $5 per night. Others stayed in tents. Rooms are available if you want them....but what's the fun in that?

Later that night we met another English gentleman. Jamie, another girl from my class, and I walked into the town of Puerto Viejo where the two gentlemen were kind enough to buy us a few drinks. Puerto Viejo is known for its colorful night life and reggae music is extremely popular in the Jamaican/Costa Rican town. As we walked along the road, crabs were everywhere. They were also all over inside the hostel.

Saturday we thought it would be a great idea to rent bikes and ride the 8 mile road (well if you ask locals it is anywhere from a 5 mile to a 12 mile road) to the point, to a place called Manzanillo, with gorgeous beaches. Simply stated, my bike was a piece of junk. It only functioned in the very lowest gear and the road was gravel with more potholes than smooth surface. It was rough. The beach was gorgeous though and extended as far as we could see in both directions. We thought the ride there was bad, but the ride back was worse. Our butts were sore, the sun was directly over head, and sand that was still trapped in my swimming suit... well, it was uncomfortable. That night we at an awesome meal at Rocking J's, our hostel, which is known for its flavorful menu and then headed off to a reggae bar. The night ended with me curled in my hammock and sound of the ocean in the distance.

 

This morning we went to the beach to soak up a few rays before catching the bus back to San Jose. It was an excellent second weekend on my Costa Rican Journey.