Costa Rica isn’t cheap, but if you’ve got the budget, it’s worth staying longer. Since we landed in San Jose, we figured we’d at least check out a bit of the country and headed to Puerto Viejo, a popular spot for travelers moving between Costa Rica and Panama.
Puerto Viejo is a small Caribbean coastal town, just north of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. It’s got that quintessential tropical vibe I expected from Costa Rica, mixed with a unique Caribbean influence thanks to migrants in the area.
We got there around 7 PM and decided to explore the town. Somehow, we ended up very drunk. No idea how that happened—probably a mix of not eating enough (shoutout to the two tiny but tasty-as-fuck empanizadas) and dehydration.
The next morning, with a hangover from hell, we rented push bikes for about 10 dollars and set off for a 15km ride to Manzanillo… which we only thought was 4km when we started. I hadn’t been on a bike in years, but once I rehydrated, it actually felt great. The jungle vibes were unreal, with howler monkeys screeching in the background. We didn’t see them, but they sounded exactly like they do on TV.
The ride led us to a reggae-filled coastal village where we had our first swim in the Caribbean—perfectly warm and refreshing. After that, we strolled through a free animal refuge along the beach. Sure, it was muddy as hell, but there were plenty of beach spots to rinse off at. We saw a few congo monkeys and some butterflies that would not stay still for pics but was still nice to see the jungle in action. As well as some of the scariest spiders I’ve ever seen.Â
The ride back gave us an unexpected highlight: a sloth hanging from a power cable. Holy shit, what a moment! I thought we’d only see one on a paid tour or something, so that was a nice surprise. By then, my legs were giving out, and the heat was absolutely kicking my ass, but I slowed down and soaked in the lush scenery. We stopped at another beach to cool off—because, seriously, it was hot as fuck—and during that break, I just barely caught a glimpse of a chameleon basking on a log in the sun. Such a random but cool little moment.
After a long, longgggg bike ride, we finally made it back. While my mate Xavier went off to do some work, I wrapped up the day playing basketball on the court by the beach at sunset.ÂHonestly, it was the most scenic court I’ve ever played on, which is why I’m absolutely kicking myself for not taking a picture before the sun disappeared since I was too focused on winning. Yeah, that day was definitely a day of missed photo opportunities, but I was really just living in the moment. I promise I’ll do better next time.
In regards to the TREK TALKS, we were only in costa rica for about 4 days, 3 of which were mostly spent through transport or exiting into Panama. Despite this obvious language barrier, I will get it done from here on out.
What an amazing start to your months long adventure ! Howler monkeys, a sloth, not to mention the scenery!