Last Updated on March 24, 2015 by
This past weekend my friends and I decided to go on our own to Puerto Viejo. It is also on the Caribbean side and is actually the town in between Cahuita and Manzanillo, where I was last weekend. Puerto Viejo is so different than Cahuita and Manzanillo though. There are a lot more shops, restaurants, bars, hostels, hotels, and more people in general. The atmosphere is completely relaxed. We stayed at Hotel Puerto Viejo, eventhough it was more like a hostel. Twelve people including myself got a room that is actually supposed to be for 8 people. We all squished and had an amazing time. How can you beat $12 a night and a two-minute walk from the beach? We immediately went to the Cocles Beach which seemed to have the most sand and people. We soaked up the sun, watched some surfing and body-surfing, played a little beach volleyball, and drank out of coconuts.
The next two days consisted of the beach and sun, some shopping, and trying the local food. There is one place that I fell in love with for breakfast. It’s called Como en mi Casa and it is an art cafe. There’s local art around that you can buy but the food is to die for. It’s all organic and homemade. I got the special breakfast each time I was there. It was some type of a toast that was wheaty and delicious that came with a pineapple-cinnamon marmalade they made themselves and a bowl of very fresh fruit. It also came with an omelette that had zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms and some seasoning in it and a green tea on the side to wake me up. If I go back to Puerto Viejo you can believe that I’ll be having breakfast there again. There was also a little farmer’s market where I tried the local chocolate they make. It was very different from what I’ve had before but I liked it! There’s cocoa plantations nearby and I even tried chocolate and banana bread at a chocolate tasting cafe. And there are tours you can go on to the plantations and to the factory to see how they make it. I also noticed a chocolate spa that intrigued me but we didn’t have enough time to check it out this trip.
Sunday afternoon we walked off the beach and took a 1pm bus back to San Jose. The second I got off the bus and looked down to see I still had sand all over my legs, I wish I hadn’t left Puerto Viejo. I will go back!
¡Pura Vida!
