Last Updated on June 11, 2015 by
After a daunting first week of classes and adjustment to Costa Rican time, 7 other people and I formed a group to travel to Puerto Viejo, Limón (located on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica) for our first weekend trip! So we took a taxi to the bus station and purchased one-way tickets for $10 a piece. The bus ride itself took 5 hours and the views leaving San José Central Valley were breathtaking. We arrived at Puerto Viejo somewhere around 8pm, walked 15 minutes down the road, and stumbled into our hostel which turned out to be one of the greatest places I’ve had the pleasure of staying in my life.
Rocking J’s Hostel in Puerto Viejo offers a unique experience, with hammocks as beds for $7/night. This is their main attraction. However, if this isn’t your cup of tea, no worries! They offer beds and tents to stay in as well. There’s also a bring your own hammock/tent section as well. Regardless of your sleeping preference I highly recommend this hostel! It’s covered in a floor-to-ceiling mosaic, it has a very open layout and is steps away from the beach. If you like falling asleep to the gentle rocking of a hammock and waking up to the soft sounds of waves meeting the shore, this hostel is for you! There is also the opportunity to create your own mosaic in the hostel for free. Cement, ceramic, and tools provided!
Puerto Viejo exists off one road, more or less, that the Atlantic Ocean spans on one side, and the forest on the other. At some point I walked across the street to the beach and stumbled upon this amazing bonfire, sat down, and started talking to some locals.
Every night in Puerto Viejo people create bonfires on the beach
The style in Puerto Viejo is a very laid back, no worries type of lifestyle. Think hakuna matata to its fullest extent. After a few hours of conversation we went back to Rocking J’s and crashed for a few hours in our hammocks. We woke up to a mostly cloudy- yet still beautiful- day in Puerto Viejo. After going to breakfast- I skipped out of exhaustion- the group rented bikes across the street and headed towards Punta Uva Beach- a 5 mile/10km/30 minute ride. We locked our bikes to the trees and spend the entire day relaxing in the sun and getting to know one another.
The water at Punta Uva was the perfect temperature and at some point the sun peeked through the clouds at the perfect time for me to get this photo!
We later biked back, grabbed some dinner at a restaurant with fresh fish (yum!), and sat on the beach at our hostel for the rest of the night. The stars were breathtaking! Your eyes had to adjust but once they did…wow! This is where we met the hostel owner- Rockin Jay- who is a very charismatic guy that lives in a bunker on the grounds called “The Ark”.
The next morning we packed up our stuff and caught the 1pm bus back to San José. All in all a very successful trip for the very low price of $80 USD. Can’t beat that!
I wonder what next weekend has in store…
¡Pura Vida!
