I took the public bus to Cahuita National Park a few days ago, sorry for the delayed post, but it’s not like I can take the computer to the beach with me.  (and  everyday’s been a beach day) Back to the park,  it was a nice way to spend the day. I started with a snorkel. The coral was healthy, a lot of Elk Coral, a few reef fish and a sting ray. From there I had the boat drop me off at the point of the park and I took a leisurely stroll, about 45 minutes,  back into town.

At one point while in the park I sat in the shade on the beach watching the waves when a guy walking by says to me “look up.”  The trees I was surrounded by were filled with monkeys.   On the trail I also saw raccoons, sloths, cool colorful butterflies and a few other critters.

I have spent more time in Puerto Viejo than anywhere else in Costa Rica. The beach, the jungle, the people and the atmosphere are the reasons I can’t seem to leave. It’s not the the cleanest place I’ve ever seen ( a mandatory monthly cleaning day like Rwanda and it could be) and it’s not prettiest place I have ever seen (click on my Fakarava page) but it helped me understand the phrase Pura Vide.

Although this has been my favorite place in the country it is definitely not for everyone but it is perfect for me. Perfect for me to pass the days riding my bike to the beaches, listening to live music, looking for wildlife, practicing spanish with friends and well just chilling out.

After checking the date I just realized I have 3 weeks left in Central America so I know I have to get out of this place. There’s a few more things I would like to do and see before I go therefore tomorrow I will consider and maybe even actually buy a transport to Tortuguero. I really want to see the park there so that is my plan as I make my way north into Nicaragua.

Until next post Pura Vida!

The journey is the destination and that proved to be the case when I stopped for a pipa frio (cold coconut water) just south of  Puerto Viejo. As I was enjoying my $1 coconut I heard howling. It was a family of monkeys up a tree. The kind lady who sold me the coconut brought me onto her property for a better view.

It’s really beautiful here with the jungle adjacent to the sea. While on my bike I almost ran over a huge yellow snake, thankfully I saw it just in time to swerve out of its way.  I tried to do some bird watching but found it’s not for me. I can never spot them. Perhaps my lack of patience has something to do with that.

That said see the picture below of the power lines? That is where I saw a sloth climbing across the lines and of course I did not have my camera on me but I can assure you it was an amazing sight to see. I felt lucky to have stumbled across the sloth and to see it up close, heck I have had my head in the trees all week just looking for one.

I will be heading to Cahuita National Park with my camera so hopefully in the next post I can actually show you the critters I have been referring to.

I rode down to Manzanillo from Puerto Viejo and the beach there was ok. Based on today’s beach hopping I would say Punta Uva is the nicest in the area. Yet twice I stopped at Playa Chiquita (photo) for a break.

Another dreamy day of traveling with no set destination.

Pura Vida!

It was raining so we decided to ride our bikes to Playa Bluff. It’s about 10 miles out of town. The surf is so powerful it is known for breaking boards. Experienced surfers enjoy it for the long rides and the waves that offer the opportunity to get tubed.

The ride there was challenging especially during high tide. Once the asphalt ends the road turns to hard sand, then a few klicks on a rock road after that a bit of wet beach then back to rocky dirt.  The payoff is a wonderful beach bar with a view of the pounding surf.  I highly recommend biking or bussing to both Playa Bluff and as I wrote about in my last post Starfish beach.

Bocas Town is a good place to base out of since there are plenty of restaurants, bars and markets and you don’t need a vehicle (unless you head to Aqua or another club on the water that requires a water taxi) but this is not the place to spend the day. To get to the beautiful beaches you need a bike ($6) or a boat ($5). Every place we have been has chairs for rent and restaurants.

Although I enjoyed my time here Rex has gone home and I must move on. It is time to make my way north. Next stop Puerto Viejo on the southern Caribbean coast of Coast Rica.

Until next time Pura Vida!!

What’s a tourist to do when the power on the island goes out for hours as the sun sets in Bocas del Toro, Panama? A swim in the bioluminescent water seemed like the perfect way to spend the evening and it was. The

water was warm and the bioluminescent was as bright as the stars in the sky. We didn’t bring a camera so there are no pictures but imagine swimming and swirling around in what looks like a sea of lightning bugs.

The following day we jumped on another boat and headed to Redfrog Beach at the Isla Bastimentos nature reserve. Although we didn’t’ see the frogs

(or a sloth) we could hear them as we walked down the tree lined path to the beach. Keep your eyes up if you want to see the birds or sloths in the trees above.

The beach is nice but the ocean was rough with strong currents. Although surfboards can be rented, the surf was far from ideal even for experienced folks. There are several beaches on the island making this a great place for those who want to explore. 

Tomorrow I am back to solo traveling Rex heads home and I head to….well I am still deciding. It’s between a beach on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica or a mountain town inland in Panama. I can’t decide the only thing I know for sure is that I have to be in Guatemala the end of April for a friend’s party.

I’ll let you know where I end up!

I didn’t surf today but I definitely got a workout. We (it’s my annual trip with my girl Rexanne) decided to ride bikes instead of taking the bus to Starfish Beach. Actually the ride wasn’t too bad it was 10 miles each way up a mountain road. It was narrow but the road was paved and there weren’t too many potholes plus the starfish made it worth the ride.  Once we made it to Drago Beach it cost $1.50pp each way for the water taxi to Starfish Beach.

The water is so clear that you can see the starfish without using a mask but don’t leave your snorkel gear behind because there’s  barracuda, parrot fish and other cool critters right off shore. There’s a few beach bars and chair rentals. We liked it so much I am sure we

will be back on that beach at some point during this trip. Tomorrow we will go for a dive in the afternoon then a bioluminescence trip in the evening.

More on Bocas Town when I find the time to put my thoughts on paper until then Pura Vida mis amigos.

This is the second time I have been in Playa Hermosa (Next door to Jaco) to watch the Saturday surf contest and I just wish it went on longer. 4pm- Sunset at the Backyard Bar and Hotel.  The surfers in the water are awesome, they put on an amazing show. I could sit there forever and just watch. I wish I could surf more often but I need two things warm water and waves. At home I can usually find one or the other but not both like here.  

Today I anxiously await the arrival of my dear friend Rex she arrives from San Fran and I am counting the minutes.  In a couple days we will head to Bocas del Toro in Panama for a week then I think I will head to Nicaragua to surf more, then El Salvador to surf a bit more then to Guatemala where I won’t surf but I will end my trip celebrating a few exciting things with my friends at their new restaurant Los Tres Tiempos in Antigua Guatemala.

Only 5 more weeks in Central America before I head home to repack my bag!

His name is Creepy and he is the pet squirrel of a guy who works at

the 3^rd hotel we have stayed in since leaving Tamarindo. So much has happened in the days since my last blog that I have no idea where to start. Just now while enjoying my coffee on my balcony I looked down and saw Creepy so I thought introducing you to him was as good as any place to begin.

Six days ago I was suppose to hit the road with Jesse, who I met when he was in Tamarindo attending a wedding.  But then his buddy Vinny, the groom’s brother, decided he wanted to take a road trip so then there was three. As I was leaving the hostel and we were saying goodbye to Tamzin I asked if she wanted to join us and she jumped out of bed, grabbed her stuff and headed to the car.

So the four “Hostel Homies” (2 Canadians and a South African) headed out to find the perfect beach town. We stopped in Nosara first and that was ok.  The beach was nice but the expensive hotel wasn’t great and we couldn’t find a restaurant opened after 9pm. Since we can’t seem to motivate that early after a day on the beach we decided to move on. Next stop was Montezuma. The town is cute but another hotel that we paid too much for in order to, literally, sleep with the ants. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. After two days of windy dirt roads and water crossings in our SUV we finally we landed in paradise. 

Santa Teresa! I was here a year ago and not too much has changed other than the fact that they did pave part of the main road. We stayed at a nice oasis “Blue Surf Sanctuary.” It was a bit out of town but it was perfect and we had a cute clean hotel on the beach block with a small pool. Besides Arenal this was my favorite spot during my Costa Rica travels.

The sand is nice, the beach is long and surrounded by jungle. Restaurants are plentiful and you can listen to live music with a drink in your hand and your toes in the sand!

Ohhhh and there’s Creepy but just the right amount of that here!

Beach, Surfing, Water, Sunset, Dinner, Hostel Happy Hour, Ladies Night, Fried Food,  Bed and repeat. To many it probably sounds unproductive but isn’t that what vacation is suppose to be? It is way too easy to get sucked into the easy life of Tamarindo when you don’t have to work. Kind of like a riptide easy to find yourself in it when it’s already happening, but as you should know just swim parallel and you will be free.

So thanks to Jesse,

my new traveling companion, he has freed me from the riptide and we will be taking off for well, we rented a car so we don’t know

where we are headed. I assume my next post will be from somewhere on the Nicoya  Peninsula.

Until I find time to write again remember to take time to enjoy life!!

On the road to Jaco there’s a bridge where people brave the traffic flying by to get a look at the crocodiles below. It’s worth the risk and time to check them out. This was the last photo op I had with my niece as my navigator. After she was safely dropped at the airport I hopped on a bus to Tamarindo. A travel hot spot for families and people learning to surf.

Flying solo again I’ve met some folks on the beach and see a pub crawl in my future. I’ll hang here for a couple days but I know I need to quickly move on. It reminds me too much of home and if that’s where I wanted to be at least I’d be sleeping in my own bed and not a hostel! Which by the way the Coral Surf Hostel is nicer than many of the hotels I have stayed in and paid 3xs the price. More on that when I have more time. It was reggae night at the bar and It is way past my bedtime! Hasta tomorrow.

I can’t seem to stay out of the water. It is just perfect. After getting pummeled by the waves in Dominical we headed for the tourist trap of Manuel Antonio. There’s a beautiful beach at

the end of the road before the national park’s entrance.  Here the waves are perfect for learning to surf.

Do not be scammed by the folks at the bottom of the mountain road who dress like park rangers, stand in the middle of the street and whistle at you to stop. They will lie and say you can’t go any farther because they want to charge you $4 to park at their lot. I just drove right by them and resisted the urge to make any unkind gesture. I get they are trying to make a living but the deceit is what bothers me.

The Manuel Antonio National Park has 3 spectacular beaches inside. (It is closed Monday’s)  When we went there are so many people and no chairs or surfboards do we just hiked the park then went to the public beach. The hike was ok. The crowds really turn me off.

We did get to witness a cute monkey steal a tourist’s plastic bag that was full of fruit. The monkeys are really bold but adorable. Next stop the Nicoya Peninsula.