The caribbean side of Costa Rica
Door: Sjoukje
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Sjoukje
05 December 2016 | Costa Rica, Tortuguero
Mis queridas,
Crossing the border with Costa Rica felt almost like coming home. Suddenly I knew the currency, the bus system, the way Spanish is spoken. It's amazing how quick you can loose your heart to a country.
In Puerto Viejo the Caribbean vibe continued. Lots of coloured houses, lots of African people (or just niggers, that's not an insult here) and 50% of the inhabitants have dreadlocks (they have taught me this little bit of exaggeration as well). In the hostel I shared my room with Maike, a Dutch girl I met in Bocas, and the hostel cat, which has a preference for spooning with well willing guests.
Of course this location was again a perfect place to be super active, despite the hot (38•C) and humid (95%) weather. Hiking in national park Cahuita was amazing -see 90% of the spot animal list below-. And the bend palm tree on the beach was multiply exploited for photo shoots. The only disadvantage of so much wildlife in combination with tourism: the monkeys can become really aggressive. It feels amazing when they jump on your shoulder. But when it starts to open your bag, and you try to prevent that, they bite. Personal experience.
In the marine part of the park we went snorkelling. Sadly I was a bit too late to see and to swim with the shark! (I was busy with not trowing over because of sea sickness. Stupid waves).
Because I become super fat here (rise, beans and... Panaderias) we went cycling. And maybe also because it's an awesome way to discover the area, since we saw three beautiful beaches and spend some time with a sloth and it's baby. Friendship with 30m distance exist!
One of the high lights of Puerto Viejo: the chocolate tour at a hyper-eco-bio-friendly plantation. It looked like a rain forest, with cacao trees randomly spread in the area. I cannot understand how they can make this profitable. The whole process of chocolate making was shown, in its most rudimentary form. When people started to talk about a groundy nutty fruity flavour you know you accidentally found yourself in a bit to posh chocolate tasting. And if you accidentally tasted a piece with cayenne pepper in it, your whole brain was burned. Lovely.
After 4 nights the travel vibe started to become active again: Tortuguero, here we come! That was easier said than done. 4 busses, 1 boat and 12 hours later we arrived in the middle of nowhere, in the most unreal village in Costa Rica. It felt like walking in a film set, utopia. There is totally nothing and suddenly... Houses! Shops! Build on sand between the palm trees.
The next morning we went on a morning boat tour, just after sunrise, trough the national park. Amazing. Everywhere were the sounds from birds, monkeys and who knows what. Leaves falling down, bubbles in the water, the mysteries of nature. To the wild life list I can proudly add three baby caymans! Sadly we didn't spot the turtles, "the" animal from this region. Although... The gigantic shield (diameter >1m ) with a skeleton next to it was obviously a green turtle. Killed by a jaguar, we learned later. Why did I love wild live? :P
However, the Caribbean coast appeared to be the perfect place for spotting wild life. My -obvious incomplete- list, from Puerto Viejo:
- howler monkey - white faced capuchin monkey - non venomous viper - pelican - iguana - sloth - possum - golden orb spider - squirrel - morpho butterfly - hermit crabs - carrying ants - way to much mosquitos - and plenty of "birds" -my knowledge is limited to describing their awesome colours-.
Additions from Tortuguero:
- spider monkey - cayman - kinkajou.
Next on Sjoukjes-travels: Nicaragua! Hasta lluego!
Crossing the border with Costa Rica felt almost like coming home. Suddenly I knew the currency, the bus system, the way Spanish is spoken. It's amazing how quick you can loose your heart to a country.
In Puerto Viejo the Caribbean vibe continued. Lots of coloured houses, lots of African people (or just niggers, that's not an insult here) and 50% of the inhabitants have dreadlocks (they have taught me this little bit of exaggeration as well). In the hostel I shared my room with Maike, a Dutch girl I met in Bocas, and the hostel cat, which has a preference for spooning with well willing guests.
Of course this location was again a perfect place to be super active, despite the hot (38•C) and humid (95%) weather. Hiking in national park Cahuita was amazing -see 90% of the spot animal list below-. And the bend palm tree on the beach was multiply exploited for photo shoots. The only disadvantage of so much wildlife in combination with tourism: the monkeys can become really aggressive. It feels amazing when they jump on your shoulder. But when it starts to open your bag, and you try to prevent that, they bite. Personal experience.
In the marine part of the park we went snorkelling. Sadly I was a bit too late to see and to swim with the shark! (I was busy with not trowing over because of sea sickness. Stupid waves).
Because I become super fat here (rise, beans and... Panaderias) we went cycling. And maybe also because it's an awesome way to discover the area, since we saw three beautiful beaches and spend some time with a sloth and it's baby. Friendship with 30m distance exist!
One of the high lights of Puerto Viejo: the chocolate tour at a hyper-eco-bio-friendly plantation. It looked like a rain forest, with cacao trees randomly spread in the area. I cannot understand how they can make this profitable. The whole process of chocolate making was shown, in its most rudimentary form. When people started to talk about a groundy nutty fruity flavour you know you accidentally found yourself in a bit to posh chocolate tasting. And if you accidentally tasted a piece with cayenne pepper in it, your whole brain was burned. Lovely.
After 4 nights the travel vibe started to become active again: Tortuguero, here we come! That was easier said than done. 4 busses, 1 boat and 12 hours later we arrived in the middle of nowhere, in the most unreal village in Costa Rica. It felt like walking in a film set, utopia. There is totally nothing and suddenly... Houses! Shops! Build on sand between the palm trees.
The next morning we went on a morning boat tour, just after sunrise, trough the national park. Amazing. Everywhere were the sounds from birds, monkeys and who knows what. Leaves falling down, bubbles in the water, the mysteries of nature. To the wild life list I can proudly add three baby caymans! Sadly we didn't spot the turtles, "the" animal from this region. Although... The gigantic shield (diameter >1m ) with a skeleton next to it was obviously a green turtle. Killed by a jaguar, we learned later. Why did I love wild live? :P
However, the Caribbean coast appeared to be the perfect place for spotting wild life. My -obvious incomplete- list, from Puerto Viejo:
- howler monkey - white faced capuchin monkey - non venomous viper - pelican - iguana - sloth - possum - golden orb spider - squirrel - morpho butterfly - hermit crabs - carrying ants - way to much mosquitos - and plenty of "birds" -my knowledge is limited to describing their awesome colours-.
Additions from Tortuguero:
- spider monkey - cayman - kinkajou.
Next on Sjoukjes-travels: Nicaragua! Hasta lluego!
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