my feet don't want to go to sleep

Traveling like I do, there is normally one extra place I don’t have time to visit but I learn about on my last day in the country. Luckily when I learned about Puerto Viejo I still had time to add it to the trip.

Located on the most south western part of Costa Rica, almost in Panama, sits the most beautiful and culturally rich town. Initially the indigenous population lived here, then came the Spanish colonizers, then they brought African slaves, and then they invited African families from the Caribbean, and finally came the Chinese who helped build the railroad. This results in the most incredible mixture in a tiny area.

To Arrive

Bookaway has great bus options from all over the country. Not many go all the way down here but I booked a van early from La Fortuna to Puerto Viejo. It is a long drive but worth it when you aren’t the one driving. From here to San Jose I used Interbus. They are all the same type of thing, check both to see different departure times.

While you are in this area you can take ubers they are just harder to find. The tuk tuk is the fastest way to go. Most people connect with one and get their number to arrange for rides throughout the time. Not being the driver has the benefits as the drivers know where the sloths live and will stop along the way. We found this toucan driving from La Fortuna. Costa Rica is an open air zoo.

To Stay

I booked a week at the Sonora Jungle & Yoga Retreat. While gorgeous it was a 20 minute walk from anything else and a 40 minute walk to the town. I was unlucky as a retreat had booked the entire place so there was no yoga and the kitchen closed regularly for the group. Shoutout to the Italian woman who ran the kitchen and cooked a special meal for me. Also the wifi was horrific. Bikes are available but over dirt roads with no street lights makes it hard.

I moved from there to the hostel right in town, La Ruka Hostel. This was a major improvement as I was a 5 minute walk to all the restaurants and a quick bike ride towards Playa Cocles. Most places have bike rentals right from the property. By this time I had lots of damp dirty clothes too. There are some cafe laundromats but I decided to not waste my time waiting and paid for it.

To Eat

As always, to eat something local and fresh choose any Soda. Otherwise here were my favorites.

• Cocomar Comida Caribeña – the most incredible full fish with coconut rice.
• Svastha | Yoga & Ayurveda Café – go for the yoga, stay for breakfast and the views. Also an amazing place to work.
• bread what what – vegetarian spot with loads of options and great juices
• El Sendero Beach Club – delicious dinner options with the best view for sunset, dancing to follow
• REGGAE CHILL – when you head down to Playa Cocles for the beach make sure to stop here for drinks and dinner

To Explore

• River and Sea Kayaking with Rainforest Hike with Caribe Fun Tours – Thankfully this tour was a sunny day. In a jungle, rain is always nearby. They drive you down to Punta Uva and include a short hike. There was a sloth moving from one tree to another which took about 20 minutes and we watched the entire thing. He was 3ft long! The biggest and closest I saw the entire trip. Find him in the photo above far right. From there we took a river kayak ride along the river that ends into Punta Uva. We learned about Costa Rica’s reforestation efforts and truly saw every type of animal. Fantastic tour which included transportation from town.
• Parque Nacional Cahuita & Bri Bri waterfalls – this tour included a jungle walk by a beach and while total soaked again it is always amazing to see the animals. It ended in a waterfall hike and fruit.
• Playa Negra – the most beautiful black sand beach I have been to. Seriously this is a deeper color than Hawaii. The waves are as strong as the sun but the jungle tree line offers great shade.
• Chocolate Tours – since I went on one in La Fortuna I skipped it here but there are loads of options that look amazing

As always I recommend the road less traveled, be different than most travelers who go west to Tamarindo, experience the south west. Maybe keep going and head down to Panama…