Pura Vida: Caribbean Coast

                                             Hola!

I just returned from my long weekend getaway to Puerto Viejo in the Limon province! It was absolutely beautiful....and definitely the most amazing place I have been so far. We woke up at 4am on on Thursday morning, in order to get into San Jose and catch the 6am bus to Puerto Viejo. Well......that did not work out as planned. We went to the wrong bus station (apparently there are two different buses into Puerto Viejo and we went to the one that didn't bring you directly to the beach.) SO, we had to taxi to a different station and wait until the 10am bus. We sat down at a small coffee shop by the station to wait for our bus. We had coffee, told stories, and lounged around in San Jose. I have learned quickly that no matter how much we plot and plan......in Costa Rica, it is very common those plans will fall through. You just have to go with it and be flexible. We finally got on the bus and arrived in Puerto Viejo about 5 hours later. The bus ride through the Caribbean was amazing and the view was priceless. There were trees and jungle everywhere...and the ocean to top it off! We still got there with plenty of time to check into the hotel and make it to the beach. The first beach we went to was Playa Negra with the black sand. 

We stayed in a really nice bed and breakfast hotel called Pura Vida (that was also the saying in Puerto Viejo). It was fabulous. Very quiet, open and relaxing. There were several hammocks to lounge around in and relax. We went to the beach, swam in the ocean, looked in the shops, and ate at delicious restaurants. My favorite restaurant was Saturday night, we found a place on the beach with live music. I ordered shrimp tacos for the first time and was in heaven because they soooo delicious. We were very satisfied with the food and the service there.


On Friday we went to the Jaguar Rescue Center near Cocles beach. We rented bikes for the day and rode through the jungle. It was amazing, we had the ocean next to us the whole ride as well. The rescue center had a tour that allowed us to play with the baby monkeys. One crawled up on my shoulder and I got to hold another one....then it started to bite me playfully so I put him down. There was one crazy monkey that stole things from people so we werent able to bring our cameras inside for pictures but we could take them from the outside. There were several other animals that we saw and learned about. The rescue center keeps animals that have been injured and treat them in order to release them into the wild. 

There were white tailed deer wondering in the center that would approach us and start licking our legs.....a deer licked me!!! All the way up my arm as well...it was really gross but

A DEER WAS LICKING ME so I secretly thought it was awesome. I highly doubt that opportunity will strike again. It was so cool to be so up close with the animals and interact with the monkeys. The sloths were also very entertaining :) It was way better than a zoo and I loved our tour guide. It was also cool because there were several tourist in our group that were from Germany and other parts of England. 

We stayed at Rocking J's on Saturday night and slept in hammocks! It was not the most comfortable sleeping situation but was suprisingly better than I thought it would be. It was right on the beach and we spent the night playing games and meeting new people :) It was an amazing experience. Everything about the Caribbean intrigued me. There was no urgengy, no sense of time, and no obligations. It was free and easy living-Caribbean style. We went at our own pace and the locals were so open and kind. It was a such an unbelievable place to be and we enjoyed everything about it. And Bob Marley was everywhere!

 I already miss the caribbean heat, laid back vibes, and awesome music! I LOVED IT and would consider going back. I would probably stay in Punta Uva...which if further outside of Puerto Viejo but had the best beaches and swim area. I feel so lucky to have been in Costa Rica such a short amount of time and to have had this opportuniy to travel already. PURA VIDA! 

"Relax, enjoy the scenery and remember patience is a virtue" -dreadnut coffee shop 

This quote was hanging on a colorful sign above their store and was a common theme in the Caribbean. Sometimes we all need a little reminder to slow down and enjoy the moments we are living in :)

PURA VIDA!