It took about 4 1/2 hours on the bus to get there. During the first part of the bus ride, we were driving alongside the mountains. It literally took my breath away. It was difficult to photograph because there were only gaps in the trees where you could see the view, but we were looking down into this valley and were surrounded by lush, beautiful mountains. It was another one of those moments where I was just so happy and could not stop smiling.
As we got closer to the Caribbean, we got to see what Costa Rica is like for the people who do not live in or near cities. There were miles and miles and miles of banana plantations (bananas and coffee are Costa Rica's main exports) with super impoverished little towns spread in between. It was interesting because in Heredia, the culture is different from home and people definitely live much more simply, but it does not feel like a 3rd world country. Riding on the bus reminded me of where I am and made me understand the country that I am in a lot more.
Puerto Viejo
Puerto Viejo is awesome. The beach is absolutely beautiful and the town is so cute and colorful and full of happy, nice people and lots of reggae music. I have never been anywhere in the Caribbean before but I imagine that the vibe there is pretty standard for el Caribeno....super super super chill and relaxed. Almost every restaurant/bar/bike rental shop is run by expats who came down for vacation years ago and never left. I can understand why...it is paradise! (Don't worry I won't do that but there was a girl my age who was our waitress who did!)
Also I'm preeeetty sure that there are no laws in Puerto Viejo...I don't recall seeing any police, but there was more weed/weed paraphernalia/Bob Marley paraphernalia around than when we were in Amsterdam last year. Which is impressive.
It was weird being in Puerto Viejo because English is pretty much the first language there and it is full of people who are not from Costa Rica (mostly Europe and some US), which is the opposite of the life I have been living for the past 2 weeks. I had gotten used to being the minority and being back in the majority was slightly shocking. Part of what I like so much about being in Heredia is being such an outsider-I feel so in touch with myself when I am here because, being a white girl in a Latin American country, there is no point in trying to mimic or keep up with anyone. I just do me! So being in Puerto Viejo in a place with people who look like me and talk like me was so strange!
Rockin J's
Our hostel was so sweet. It's called Rockin J's, and it is right on the water and has tents and hammocks along with traditional hostel rooms. I stayed in a hammock for only $6. It felt like grown-up summer camp.
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| My sleeping arrangements for the weekend |
We got to our hostel on Friday around dinner time, so some of us went to dinner and then met the rest of the group out at one of the bars in town. It was a super fun night!
Cahuita
Before we left for Puerto Viejo, my friend (who is also a vegan!) Danielle and I decided that we didn't want to spend Saturday sitting on the beach and instead wanted to do some exploring. One of my teachers recommended going to the National Park nearby-Cahuita. Such a good recommendation!
Me, Danielle, Austin, and James, aka the smartest, most winningest USAC students, were the only ones out of the 25 or so students that decided to go to Cahuita in the morning. While everyone else got sunburnt on the beach, we went on a beautiful 10ish mile hike that varied between overlooking the beautiful water and winding through the jungle. It was craaazy awesome! Everything was so so so beautiful and cool-the beach with clear water and white sand with mountains in the distance, the hundreds of different trees and plants, the beautiful butterflies, lizards, and other wildlife. AND WE SAW MONKEYS!!!!!!! Such. A. Success. We had such a fun time-it was definitely one of the best days I've had since I've been here.
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| Paradise! |
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| Danielle and I just hanging out! |
Once we got back from Cahuita, we decided to push ourselves and not succumb to our tiredness and met up with some of the people still at the beach. On our walk to the beach, we saw sloths!!!! We were so sad we didn't see any on our hike but karma came through and we got to see TWO slothi (our invented plural of sloth) and got really close to them.
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| Me and Breigh-Anna on the beach |
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| The weirdest animal on Earth |
At the beach, there was a surfing competition just ending and dusk was descending and it was really peaceful. Afterwards we showered, hung out at the hostel for a while playing drinking games with everyone, and then got yummy dinner (I got curry for the second night in a row tehe) and went out again.
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| The hiking crew + Jess and Sylvie at our favorite restaurant-Chili rojo |
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| Ready to go out! |
In the morning, Danielle and I wanted to wake up early and go shopping at all the little markets and sit on the beach. But it rained like craazy so instead we chilled at our favorite restaurant and had the best smoothie of my life and ate more yummy gallo pinto and then came home!
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| mmmmmm... |
This weekend was suuuch a success. However on the negative side I now am host to a super super super super painful blister on the bottom of my foot which makes walking almost impossible. Stupid flip flops! Worth the pain, though!
PURA VIDA
-Rachel
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