Jun 22, 2005 - Coast To Coast

Okay when I say hell ride I mean hell ride. A five hour bus ride to San Jose and then a five hour bus ride to Puerto Viejo Limon; man let me tell you the bus for that long, sucks. Reminded me of the thirty-six hour bus ride from Jacksonville Florida to Michigan State when I was in college. We arrived on the Carribbean Coast and I felt sick to my stomach and tired as hell, Shai and I got a free taxi ride to Rockin' J's got a double because it was that or the dorm hammocks. And if you remember and have been keeping up with my journal, not...

Jun 3, 2005 - Puerto Vieja and back to San Jose

Hola. Well, me Jo and Krys have just returned from a lovely 3 nights in Puerto Vieja on the caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We got the 6am bus from San Jose on Tuesday (yes, 6am !!) and got there at about 10ish. The weather was decidedly un-caribbean like at this point but we got in a taxi and he dropped us at Punto uva, about 7km east of Puerto Vieja, a place recommended by the lonely planet. Soon realised that with it being low season, there wasnt much open and what we did see was pretty basic, damp and prob mosi infested. So at this...

May 21, 2005 - Costa Rica - Puerto Viejo

Este erkeztem, ugyhogy ket napot kellett itt eltoltenem, hogy azert annyire ne szaladjak. Kellemes hely. Szinte feher homokos tengerpart, palmafak es ami nagyon tetszik, hogy a dzsungel a partot eri. A szallas is a tengerparton van hatalmas fakkal korulveve. Seta a tengerparton eleg erdekes, egyszer a parton a homokon, masszor a par meterrel beljebb igazi dzsungelben vezet az ut. Kulonben a varost igazi raszta fekak lakjak az ezzel parosulo kulturaval egyutt. A szalason eleg jo kis tarsasag jott ossze ugyhogy este elmentunk egyet bulizni....

Apr 17, 2005 - Puerto Viejo

Manmade canals run down the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. From Tortuguero to Puerto Viejo was a three-hour journey through rainforest cloaked in rain, with only occasional stops to drop people off or unsnag the propeller. Everyone says what a cool place Puerto Viejo is, but from where I was sitting, dampness was more of a feature. It was chucking it down like it can only do in the tropics, hitting the tin roofs hard enough that you had to raise your voice to be heard. During briefs lulls I managed to get my chores (laundry etc) done and...

Apr 6, 2005 - Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica... To the Carribean!

Walking to the Caribe Bus terminal at Yats speed, fortunately managed to buy the last ticket for the bus to Puerto Viejo. As was confusedly looking for my seat, heard someone call my name. Was about to dismiss it as yet another Latino saying "ya" or something, looked up and saw Susy and Ivan looking almost as surprised as I was. If I had been updating my journal as well as I could have, you would remember they were the English couple Jack and I met at Manuel Antonio. They remember us as the people they thought were trying to get dog s**t...

Mar 9, 2005 - Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Aendlech use vo dem San Jose!! San Jose esch sost eigentlech nor Mittel zum Zweck..also mer chonnt emmer weder zrogg of San Jose, wel die meiste Busverbendige vo San Jose starte. Mer haend eus so z'saege esch "Lager" gmacht en San Jose, wo mer euses Gepaeck henderloehnd wemmer of Reise goehnd. Eso schleppemer ned emmer alles met, ond mer bruche sowieso meistens nor zwoi, drue Saecheli...em Hotel Capital bem Bernardo esch es bestens ufghobe:) Mer send ehne scho bestens bekannt ond waerde emmer meteme froendleche lache ond eme: "Hola...

Jan 14, 2005 - Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

The persistent (yet beautiful) rain of La Fortuna and Monteverde was enough for us to begin yearning for some warmth and sunshine, and made us anxious to see the much talked about white sand beaches of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We have become accustomed, while traveling and meeting countless other backpackers in hostels or restaurants and bars, to learning last minute updates from travelers about a destination that may quickly change the course of our 'itinerary.' Such was the case as we planned our day of bus travel to Puerto...

Jan 4, 2005 - The Caribbean Coast

CAHUITA: United Airlines managed to fly my misplaced back pack into San Jose and were nice enough to deliver it to our Hotel. From there, we went straight to the bus station to buy our bus tickets toward the town of Cahuita on the Caribbean coast. We had to purchase our tickets ten minutes before departure time and were given standing room only tickets for the four-hour bus ride over the mountains. This was a daunting proposition for the King of Claustrophobia and the Queen of Car Sickness, but we knew we had to get the heck out of San...

Nov 8, 2004 - Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

The caribbean coast of Costa Rica, this little town of a couple of thousand people is a backpacking hotspot because of the great waves here and the unspoiled jungle nearby. After being greeted by three days of bucketing rain, the sun is out and the waves are pumping. On friday, I hired a surfboard and stood up for the first time on a wave. Then I did it again just to prove it wasn't a fluke. Unfortunately yesterday I was body surfing and got absolutely drilled and I have injured my knee. So I wont be surfing again for a while.

Aug 14, 2004 - To Tortuguero

Ellen: First, photos are to come, when we find a faster connection, so check back for the camera icon. Kevin: We finally decided to splurge for our anniversary and took the all-inclusive package with Tortuguero Canals. It was definitely worth it! Ellen: We caught the 6:30am direct bus to Puerto Limon, because it saved us $60 by not taking the tour's transportation. We booked the trip with a group because we had heard about this couple's tours being so good. But the public bus was only $3, so they said we could meet them at the docks. Nice...

Jul 19, 2004 - Puerto Viejo

Ok. I have heard so much about this place from every traveller to ever have been to Costa Rica. I have high expectations and so far the place hasn´t failed to live up to them. It is one of those backpacker hangouts where the surfer dudes don´t ever leave and the surfer chicks hang around coz the boys are. Maybe that is a little unfair. There are definately some fantastic beaches here and shaded by the row of palm trees it can´t help but impress. THere are very few places to have a good cheap meal, but that is OK as there is a kitchen in...

Jul 18, 2004 - Cahuita

A beautiful beach here in a national parque. I stayed in a funny little wigwam thing which was just set up in the back yard of some crazy old guy. This is the first place I have felt sick- for 24 hours I was getting stomach cramps and dreadful bathroom problems. When the old guy realised I was ill, he went inside his house and came back with a cup of tea for me. I didn´t ask too many questions, but it was quite strange. I got better completely within the hour. I think he must ahve been some kingd of witch doctor. The beach here is gogeous...