Puerto Viejo

Last weekend, Emily and I very early Saturday morning to catch the 6:00 am bus to Puerto Viejo. We tried to make this trip as cheap as possible which included packing many of our meals and staying at a cheaper hostel. We went grocery shopping Friday afternoon after family day at Central Commercial del Sur near my house. We walked past this rather peculiar chip sampling stand, and realized that it was going to be a crazy weekend. Puerto Viejo which means Old Port in Spanish, is located on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica in the province of Limon. Limon is where most of the indigenous peoples in Costa Rica live, and there is also a large African and Jamaican influence in the region.

After Emily and I saw this chips stand,
we started to wonder what our weekend on
 the Caribbean side of the country would be like. 

It was only about a four and a half hour drive from San José to Puerto Viejo. We made one "bathroom break" in the province's capital city of Limon. All of the provinces here in Costa Rica are named after their capital cities, San José being the country's capital. Once we got to Puerto Viejo, we were dropped off at the bus stop in town. We were already planning to stay at Rockin J's Hostel, and the website had advertised that they would pay any cab driver who brought a paying customer to Rockin J's. So, we hopped in a local cab (which was a little scary because Puerto Viejo does not have the red cabs with the yellow triangles like the rest of the country) and asked to go to Rockin J's. We found that there was a lot more diversity in the languages spoken in Puerto Viejo including a french creole and german, but we actually encountered a lot less English speakers also. It was good practice for Emily and I to really have to rely on our communication skills to get around a place we had never been before. When we arrived at Rockin J's, it was only about 10:30 in the morning. We could not decide if the party had already started or if was still going on from the night before... We paid $5 dollars each for a hammock, a sheet, and keys to a personal locker for our things. 

The entire place was very interesting and very crowded with backpackers and typical hostel goers. The bathrooms were a little gross, and there were a lot of empty bottles of alcoholic beverages lying around. However, it was a nice place to sleep for really cheap. Rockin J's was completely decorated in mosaics that past patrons had left behind. There was also an option of bring your own or staying in a provided tent.

At Rockin J's Hostel, we were given a locker, a hammock,
and a sheet for $5 a night.

Everything at Rockin J's was decorated in murals and mosaics

So, after locking up our stuff, we left through the back gate of Rockin J's which was literally twenty feet from the beach. There was a path in the woods along the beach that was about a kilometer walk to the center of town. We chose to walk right along the beach.

The trail in the woods beside the beach

This beach was not crowded just like Montezuma, but it was also the calmest beach I have seen in Costa Rica. The caribbean waters were warm and crystal clear. Due to the presence of an immense system of barrier reefs, the waves never actually crashed on shore. In fact, I was able to put my goggles on and swim right alongside tropical fish. It was also calm enough to just float on my back without fear of being pummeled by a wave or pulled out to sea by a riptide. They say that the Caribbean side of Costa Rica is a lot more laid back, but I had no idea. While swimming around, we got to play around with this little boy who spoke only the French creole. It seemed that the whole group of boys come to the beach everyday and play futbol in and around the water. This boy was a bit too small to play the older boy's games, and he was determined to play fetch with me. As in, he would throw a stick or piece of coral and expect me to go get it for him. It was hilarious!

Throughout the weekend, Emily was trying to complete her ecological photography class project. So, we tried to find some good places for her to take pictures for her chosen topic of "reflections." The scenery in and around Puerto Viejo was gorgeous. I especially liked spending time in the tide pools which were full of tropical fish, crabs, snails, coral, plants, etc. 

An old barge that washed ashore and became a habitat for plants. 

One of Emily's "Reflection" Pictures.

The cutest kids ever! There were no regulations as to where
 people could park their boats.
At one point, I was swimming, and someone
came and parked their boat right beside me!

Later, after swimming, walking,  and relaxing for hours on the beach we decided it was time to get some dinner. We had already eaten our packed breakfast and lunch. We decided to check out the creperie that had been recommended to us by friends. Like many good things in Puerto Viejo, the creperie was not at all advertised, and we had a hard time finding it. Luckily, we did, because it was the most delicious thing ever! We both ordered batidos con leche y piña or what is kind of like a pineapple milkshake (it is a lot better than it sounds) and crepes. The crepes were filled with bananas and a little bit of nutella. The outside was covered in homemade chocolate. There was even a fresh piece of starfruit to go along with the perfect snack.

The BEST crape ever!

That night, we had a chance to enjoy the vibrant night life of Puerto Viejo, which was especially fun because a lot of our friends had also decided to come to Puerto Viejo for the weekend. We attempted to go to bed at one point, but Rockin J's was "Rockin" a little too much. So, with the help of my trusty earplugs, we were able to get a few hours of sleep in the hammock jungle. 

The next morning, we woke up early to catch the Caribbean sunrise while eating the cereal we had packed. Afterwards, we walked through town checking out all of the cute shops and the street venders. A number of our friends had been to a Cacao house with a witch that sells really good chocolate, cocoa butter, and cacao jewerly. Just like the creperie, it was almost impossible to find. There was an expensive tour that you can take with the BriBri indian tribe, and everyone thought that we were talking about that. We finally got a little fed up with the lack of understanding, that I said I would check just one more place. We went to the Cari BEANs coffee and chocolate shop in town hoping that they would know about their own competition. The man knew exactly what I was talking about. He gave me directions (which ended up being very wrong), but at least I knew what to ask the cab driver.

We went to the same cab driver that had taken us to Rockin J's, and asked to go to the Cacao House. It was on an unmarked road (typical..) up the side of a mountain. We went inside to meet the self-proclaimed witch. She demonstrated a number of things involved with the chocolate making process including how banana leaves can be strengthened for use in construction and basket making. Apparently, the banana leaves do not actually burn in the fire, but they melt. So, if you let a banana leaf melt in a fire for ten seconds, it becomes flexible and strong. The woman's house was literally a dirt floor glorified hut., but it was beautiful. After her talk, we got to sample some of the different types of chocolate. I got a container of cocoa butter that is supposed to help some of my scars. We both got different types of chocolate...my favorite was the chocolate with cas. I also got a beautiful bracelet that was made out of cacao seeds.

The entrance to the Cacao House.

The Cacao House.

After one night at Rockin J's, we decided to take the late Sunday night bus home instead of the early Monday morning bus home. It also seemed like it was going to start raining soon, and we were sure that the open atmosphere of Rockin J's would not be quite as much fun in the rain. So, we spent the rest of the day enjoying the relaxing beach, and we caught the late bus back to San José. Now I can say that I've swam in the Atlantic, Pacific, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Caribbean!

Another self-planned trip...SUCCESS!!!