Manuel Antonio
Puerto Viejo
Cabuya, just outside of Montezuma
The best part about this country, by far, is its spectacular natural beauty. By the end of August I will have been here for a little over three months and despite its small size, there's no way I will have been able to experience even half of Costa Rica's natural wonders...BUT I have seen some of them. The weekend following our first week of classes, we all headed to Manuel Antonio, three hours outside of San Jose, on the Pacific coast. The second weekend we went to Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean coast. During the week in between the program ending and work starting, we visited the Montezuma/Cabuya area.
Here's a rundown of those three locations:
1. Of all three locales, Manuel Antonio has the best beaches. It's bright and fresh and home to a beautiful national park. It was probably the most touristy of the places we've been, but the experience itself made up for it. We all stayed at Backpackers Hostel. It was cheap and tons of fun. There were about twenty of us in one room, sleeping in bunk beds. There was also a communal kitchen where we could all cook whenever we wanted and free breakfast in the mornings. Oh, and there was pool! Small, but it was clean, cute and had spectacular views of the water. I felt like I was at summer camp. This was the trip where we all first bonded. It's an easy trip, the three hour bus ride flew by and before we knew it, we were on the beach. Would I go back? Sure, but only after I've seen everything else there is to see.
2. Puerto Viejo, you rascal, you! Well, we stayed at Rockin' J's hostel and it was cool, but kind of gigantic and full of snobby gringos (y'know, like us). The first day we got there, we arrived at around 10am, having left SJ at 6am. We stumbled upon a natural reef pool just outside the hostel and stayed there all day. Needless to say, we were all in bed by 11pm. PV is famous for its bike rentals and snorkeling, so the next day we rented gear for both, but...then...I got sick...like pretty sick...like sit in my room at the hostel all day sick. It sucked. We left the next day. Sooo, my Puerto Viejo experience wasn't really the real thing. I can't really have much of an opinion on it, other than that I had more fun elsewhere. Go figure. Anyway, my favorite part of the trip was the bus ride. It was lush and green and there were volcanoes in the distance. I took some video and you can see it here...it doesn't do it any justice, but it gives you an idea. That's one ride I'd love to do again, especially in a personal car.
3. MONTEZUUUUMA! Can you tell this was my favorite place thus far? Maybe the fact that we got to spend a whole week there, rather than hurried weekend, or maybe it was the fact that we got to stay in a house that our friends are renting in Cabuya (just up the road), or maybe it was just more fun that the other places. I think it's a little of everything. Montezuma became a destination in the 80's when some post-Vietnam hippies stumbled upon it and since then it hasn't lost its hippie vibe. The town itself is about a block and half long, cute and has everything you need. The coast is rough and dark, with beautiful black rocks all along the beaches. There are waterfalls and beautiful jungle trails everywhere. I feel as though we "roughed it" the most here- we explored, hiked, and filled our days. We even hitchhiked into town (don't worry, mom...they had kids). We took a boat out to a nearby island one day, snorkeled and had lunch. Each night, as we sat on Thai, Alyson and Johnny's patio, we'd hear the lizards, the howler monkeys and the variety of other creatures in the jungle. We cooked dinner every night, drank wine, hammocked and had lovely conversations. The days were long and our shoes were muddy, so bedtime was usually no later than 11pm. Would I go back? In a heartbeat. The only annoying part is the fact that to get there you have to take a bus, a ferry, and another bus. But for a week, it was definitely worth it.
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