The South-East Coast!

Departing Tortuguero is not an easy task. Because it´s only accessible by water, we had to book a spot on a river taxi in advance. We enjoyed the three and a half hour trip south to Limon - it´s more like a private wildlife tour than a taxi ride. Our captain would stop along the way to show us huge crocodiles, turtles, and iguanas. He would also stop along the way to buy local seafood.

Once in Limon, a gritty port city that ships most of Costa Rica´s bananas, we joined two other travellers in a taxi to Cahuita instead of waiting for the local bus. When we arrived, the hotel we had chosen said they had a room for us, but when they checked further all were taken except a huge room with a beautiful ocean view that would be almost double the price. After a little haggling we managed to get the luxury room for only a few dollars extra. Having the additional space and a second bed to lay things out on is really a bonus when you are travelling out of a suitcase.

Cahuita is a laid back beach town with Caribbean flair and colour. Lots of small restaurants line the streets along side surf, clothing and tour shops. The streets are gravel and dust but the beaches at each end of town are spectacular but very different. Playa Negra to the north is, as its name suggests, a stretch of black sand beach while to the south Playa Blanca provides a stark contrast with its soft white sand. Right beside the town is another national park. On our first walk into the park we spotted a two-toed sloth feeding from the low branches at eye level. We stood and watched for fifteen minutes as it slowly moved along the branches chewing select leaves and ignoring us entirely.

The next day we hiked almost four kilometres into the park where we were greeted by several white-faced monkeys looking for food. We were able to hand them small pieces of pineapple. On our way back we encountered not one, but two extremely poisonous eyelash vipers just beside the walking path! These beautiful bright yellow snakes are found in forests throughout Costa Rica but sighting them is very rare.

After a few days, we decided to move down the coast to Puerto Viejo - another lovely beach town. Everything there is much more spread out and many people rent bicycles to get around. With temperatures in the mid thirties, it was great relief to take a dip in the ocean. As this area has one of Costa Rica´s last two living coral reefs, the beach right in town isn´t the easiest place to swim. The coral can be quite sharp and difficult to walk on.

Since we happened to be there on Super Bowl Sunday, we watched the game while eating dinner at a local pub. We thought about continuing south to Panama but for the moment we decided to give La Fortuna another try in hopes that the volcano would reveal itself!

Adios amigos!