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Costa
Rica Adventure
March 5-20, 2005
An early start, as we helped
ourselves to the first of many Tico-style breakfasts. This one was buffet in
the hotel, and included such local treats as rice and beans, eggs, and of
course, Costa Rican coffee. In time I grew addicted to the strong, excellent café
con leche everywhere we went. A quick meeting and
get-to-know-each other session was held by Julie before heading out. We
dutifully went around the room and introduced ourselves. Travelaholics
anonymous, anyone? After taking care
of the paperwork and essentials, we piled into taxicabs and set out for the
bus terminal. Public buses are interesting
in Costa Rica. You are assigned a seat for longer journeys, and in some cases
you’re actually expected to sit in your assigned seat. My assigned seat happened to be next to a
very chatty man from Sweden who had the worst breath I had ever had to smell
for five hours straight. Joy. On the
bright side, the scenery as we descended from San José to the lower elevation
of the Caribbean coast was nothing short of spectacular, and I spent a good
part of the bus ride gaping out the window.
The view on the way to Limon was beautiful (Photo credit: SHS) After a while (I was
officially on travel time, which meant no more exact time or even looking at
a watch except when unavoidable), we arrived in the town of Limon, on the
Caribbean coast. While supposedly one of the more major port cities in the
area, Limon didn’t seem like anything special. The main thing we noticed upon
disembarking was the heat: the coast was much hotter than San
José. We all bought water, since the
tap water is not potable in that part of the country, and we also purchased
some snacks for the road. I was slowly familiarizing myself with the three
words of Spanish I’d need for the trip (Buenos, cuantos, gracias). Then after a short break, it was
back on the bus to head south to the town of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. My first impression of the Caribbean was that it
looked refreshing. The oppressive heat had settled into our bus ride, and the
water looked so appealing I was ready to dive right in.
Caribbean beach near
Cahuita (Photo credit: SHS) We arrived in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca around
lunchtime. The town itself is a hippie haven, full of people – Ticos and
foreigners alike - listening to reggae music, wearing rasta pants and smoking
weed. After loading our bags into a van, we took a walk through town to our
hotel, which was actually a set of bungalows just a few minutes’ walk down
the road. We were right on the beach, and, to our delight, each bungalow had
two hammocks. As we settled in and made ourselves comfortable, I thought, I
could really get used to this!
Lying
in the hammock outside our Puerto Viejo bungalow (Photo
credit: SHS) We’d skipped lunch, so we headed to a little Italian
restaurant for some mid-afternoon snacks. The food was good, and it was great
to eat sandwiches and bruschetta
overlooking the water. But the main attraction of the restaurant was the
waiter, who looked like Antonio Banderas. The hotel had a beach right across the street, but it
was rocky and full of sea urchins and other such creatures. We opted to take
a walk to find a nicer beach. Our determination was met with success when we discovered
a beach about fifteen minutes to the south with beautiful white sand and
gentle waves. The area was fairly
secluded and we practically had the entire beach to ourselves. The water of
the Caribbean was warm and inviting, and we all took a dip and lay on the
beach enjoying the beautiful scenery. That first swim in the ocean was
definitely a trip highlight. I remember thinking that all my friends and
relatives back home would be so jealous if they could see us floating in the
waves.
First
dip in the Caribbean (Photo
credit: SHS) Unfortunately, time did not stop right there on the
beach. We reluctantly went back to the hotel for a quick shower and change
for dinner. Our perfume of the evening – and of a good part of the trip - was
what we came to refer to as “Eau de DEET”, in order to fight off the
mosquitoes that were everywhere. Limon province has some risk for malaria, so
we weren’t taking any chances. Dinner took forever to be served but was highly worth
the wait. Caribbean, Jamaican, Thai and
other specialties were the flavours of the house, and a live band added some
atmosphere. I had my first shot of Café Rica, a strong coffee-flavoured
liqueur. We all ordered fruit smoothies, which rapidly became staples of our
diet.
Me and
Cathy, out with the group for dinner in Puerto Viejo (Photo
credit: SHS) After dinner, we explored the town and browsed in the
shops before settling in for the night. Next: Manzanillo
National Wildlife Refuge. |
