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Cycling home
Tash and Elli neck and neck at the finish, im laggin behindIts a great feeling waking up in the morning and just picking somewhere to head off to wondering what adventures await! This was the not so unpleasant predicament we found ourselves in when we left San Jose and hopped on a bus down to our selected destination of Puerto Viejo De Talamanca on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. As we had missed the white sandy beaches and chilled out feel of Roatan Island in Honduras (due to that damn volcano) we felt the need for a bit of beach time. The bus to Puerto Viejo usually takes about 4 hours but due to a mudslide wiping out a big chunk of road on the mountain pass we head to take a detour adding an extra hour and a half onto the journey. We got talking to a nice guy from North Boston called Jimmy McDoogle (great name!) while we waited for the bus to depart at Caribe Station in San Jose (there a few different stations so make sure you get the right one). He had lived in Puerto Viejo for 4 years and we would later meet him again at a beach side pub there later that night.
Attack!
Monleys head for the high-ground As we rolled into the town after a long but not unpleasant journey through the mountains and sweeping jungle down to the coast you could already sense the relaxed vibes of this place. We stayed in a great little hostel just further up and around the bend on the road you depart the bus called Los Suenos. It is run by an eccentric swiss lady who has lived there for 15 years now and has good english. Its cheap, clean has wi-fi and a tidy little kitchen up on the balcony.
Two of our friends from the tour group would be arriving from san jose later that night to join us for a few days so we decided to wait for them in a bar facing the beach just down the road from the bus stop. They were due to arrive about half 7 but 3 beers later and no sign of the bus! We didn't mind waiting though as we were entertained by a few interesting locals. First up was an old, bedraggled Canadian guy stoned out of his mind who stumbled up to us to fill us in on his life story and marital problems, which was
Easily pleased
Yvonne happy out swingin in her chair hammock thing at the beach side bar nice. Apparently he was in the process of re-marrying the wife he divorced 2 years ago, well that was what we interpreted from his mumblings. After a while he wandered off into the darkness to enlighten some of lucky people and thats when we met up with our old friend Jimmy McDoogle! He was completely sober and much easier to understand. He was just back from 2 months working as the piano player on a cruise ship which had sailed around the Caribbean. He was a really interesting guy and our converstaoin [assed the time nicely until Elli and Tasha eventually ariived.
The next day we decided to rent some bicycles and do as the locals do (everyone has bikes here, its flat!). We had heard of an animal santuary about 3km out of down along the coast called Jaguar animal sanctuary which turned out to be really great. Tours are at 9.30 and 11.30 only. You get to have a 'monkey experience' as the owner puts it, she beleives everyone should have one atleast once. They have howler monkeys of various ages which you can handle and play with (see pics!). They seemed to like me more than
Elli!
Elli posing with her coconuts out... most for some reason, think it may have been cos i was the tallest and they feel safest on the tallest trees! After a while they bring the monkeys out into the forest play area where they also have 2-toed and 3-toes sloths. The 3-toed sloth is really mellow and friendly and can be handled but the other type bites so be careful! Further down from here is a small pond where one of the coolest looking frogs ive seen can be found. The red-eyed tree frog is brightly coloured orange and green with these enormous deep red bulbous eyes, way more interesting than the crappy boring frogs we get in Ireland! There is also an Ocelot and a huge native species of owl to be seen, as well as lots of snakes including the notorious Fer-de-lance which can be fatal. As the owner delights in telling you, their bite causes the afflicted limb to contract gang-green leading to amputation and eventual death if untreated. Nice! It really is a great experience and well worth the $10-12 donation.
After our wildlife tour we ventured across the road to go for a swim in the sapphire blue waters of the
Caribbean. The waves our pretty big but great fun. Wandering back into town we were grateful of the swim cos it was gettin seriously hot now, i just threw all my clothes into the sea before i put them back on to keep me cool on the way back, worked a treat!
Puerto Viejo is a small, sleepy town where you go to relax and unwind for a couple of days. There are plenty of restaurants etc on the main street so its easy to find what you need. We had a nice couple of days here, our last in Costa Rica as it turned out. Our next stop would be the islands of Bocas Del Toro just across the border in Panama.
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