damo & kath get lost: puerto viejo, costa rica

25 - 28 April, 2014

Why hello there!

Time for another instalment of our adventure, this one brought to you by Damo, and focusing on Puerto Viejo which is in the south of Costa Rica. That's right, we entered a new country!

The difference between Costa Rica and Panama can be summed up by comparing the buses. Panama buses were small, crammed with as many people as humanly possible, with luggage thrown on the roof, held down by rope and luck. More luck than rope. Cost Rica buses on the other hand are large, comfortable, plenty of space (rarely full) and luggage carefully placed under the bus. Spending hours on buses, you start to notice and appreciate the difference!

Puerto Viejo is cool. V cool. The surfers are all incredible, the weather was great (rains at night), the food delicious, and we had a very welcoming host. I'd highly recommend it next time you're in the area.

The highlights

Firstly, I've gotta mention the border crossing. Basically, they drop you off at one side, you get your passport stamped, you cross a bridge with your bags, stamp passport again on other side, and away you go. However the bridge is literally falling apart. It's quite high up and full of holes the size of beach balls. If you didn't pay close attention to where you are walking, you could literally fall straight through. And this is their main border crossing. Wow.
Oh, we saw sloths (thanks for the tips Jarrod). It was at a sanctuary. Great day trip, we caught a bus there which was fine, and did a tour. However, getting home, no buses would stop for us. After waiting about an hour, I decided to try hitch hiking. After half an hour, and me showing a bit of leg, we had success (much to kath's surprise who thought I was wasting my time). The couple that picked us up were lovely, and drove us straight back to our hostel (about a 40 minute drive). We chatted about what they did, and they said they loved Australian music. Specifically Hillsong. Yep. However we were very grateful for the lift!
Turns out, Kath can do an amazing sloth impression from the movie ice age. Really amazing. I've had the pleasure of hearing it constantly for the last 4 days. I'm very lucky to have such a talented girlfriend.
We grabbed bikes and rode everywhere. One evening, we went for a surf and planned to have dinner straight after at a taco joint called Tasty Waves. We packed our gear and left. I forgot a shirt. Ate dinner, at a restaurant, shirtless. However, no one even cared. In fact, they ended up offering to help us find jobs if we wanted to stay!
Surfed every day, Kath yoga'd (yep, that's now a new word) with hippies above a chocolate store, and we feasted on fresh coconuts chopped down by our host and handed to us daily. Winning!

The Summary

Weather: Sunny and warm during the day, buckets down at night.
Surf: Surfed every day, 3-4 foot, seriously talented locals.
Food: Cooked breakfast and lunch, ate out dinners (that doesn't sound right...). Delicious food though.

Beverages: Coconuts, a couple of beers, but not too much alcohol. Our bodies are temples.

People: Surfed with our host at the hostel, but didn't meet too many people. Dudes at Tasty Waves restaurant were cool though.

Accommodation: Bungalow with private deck, hammock and kitchen. Nice.

Budget: Came in at about on budget, slightly under. About $90 per day.

Overall: Some seedy parts but mostly pretty chilled. Plenty of American tourists, everyone spoke English and a great beach. I'd definitely come back.

Adiós,

Damo and Kath