Puerto Viejo - The Caribbean Coast

Day 10: 5/28/15

We woke up to beautiful sunshine today, the whole area is happy since it has been an extremely rainy few weeks. Perfect for the activities we have planned for today.  Early breakfast at 6:30 and then off to the tiny village of Manzanillo, a few miles down the coast.  We see glimpses of the Caribbean Sea on our way there and finally get our view when we start off on our jungle hike right from the beach in Manzanillo. Manzanillo is actually a very poisonous tree that emits toxic gases (in small doses) and has poison fruit and bark.  There is only one of these trees in the town, but it’s pretty interesting that the town name actually means “Tree of Death.”  As soon as we start walking, we see wildlife: something called the Jesus Christ lizard (it walks on water), a green iguana, whip tailed lizard, vine snake, howler monkey, two and three-toed sloths, tree frogs, toad, and the owl-eyed butterfly. So many cool species, as well as cool plants – coconuts (yep, we tried some delicious coconut water and I even liked the coconut meat which tastes like almonds), mushrooms, quinine plant, strangler fig, almond tree, and something called a Caribbean snowball.  I definitely nerded out and was that tourist taking a gazillion photographs.  Most of the hike was in the jungle (with one unusual encounter with a mentally disturbed local with a machete, yikes!), but we ended the hike along the coast line with a quick peep at a secret sea cave. I got soaked by a large wave as I was entering the cave, but it was totally worth it! There was some bats and a large hole looking up at the sky.  We ate lunch right along the beach and then we had a few hours to swim, play Frisbee, and just enjoy our tropical locale. We all really enjoyed our chill time, especially after such a long drive yesterday.  In the evening, we got to do some shopping (and haggling) along the streets of Puerto Viejo and then enjoyed cooking lessons with Miss Veronica and her seven year-old daughter Maybelle. We all helped make Caribbean chicken, coconut rice and beans, and salad.  It was definitely the best rice I have had since I have been here, probably because she makes it with 7 shredded coconuts! Good thing she shared the recipe with us, because I am going to definitely have to make that at home. 

Day 11: 5/29/15
When your day starts with two hours of Caribbean dance lessons, you know it's going to be a good
 day! And Wanda our instructor (who has danced in all sorts of famous dance companies abroad) did not disappoint. She had us moving and grooving and trying not to feel too unsure of ourselves. She said as long as we were smiling, we were going to be alright (and she was right). We learned four different types of dances (I can only remember one of the names - salsa) and all were sweating profusely in the first five minutes. I got some great footage of the students I hope to use as blackmail one day :). After dance class, there was no time to rest, we had all kinds of cute animals to look at at the Jaguar Rescue Center. We started at the baby monkey enclosure (and didn't want to leave) where we saw a white-faced capuchin and so many baby howler monkeys. Most of these were confiscated from people trying to have them as pets. Although it is illegal to have native animals as pets here in Costa Rica, we all certainly understood why people have them as pets. They are super cute and cuddly.  We also saw several different types of wild cats, orange parakeets, a brown pelican, two kinds of sloths up close, these really cool looking owls, several hawks and frogs, and an American crocodile. What a tour! After a not so quick lunch, we did a little shopping around town and then changed for what was to be a trip highlight: learning to surf! The guides promise everyone will stand up. that's a pretty tall order when you figure we have 16 group members and 95% have never surfed before and they only had two hours with us. But, I would say we were pretty successful overall. I think everyone at least

partially stood up on the boards, and there is no doubt our blooper reel was hysterical.  It was a pretty perfect evening with the sun setting over the Caribbean Sea and us soaking up the last few rays of sun and surf. 



Day 12: 5/30/15
Our last full day in Puerto Viejo took us to Cahuita National Park where we snorkeled along the coral reef a few hundred yards out from shore.  The first spot we snorkeled at was pretty wavy and it was hard to see many fish. Several of the students got a little sea sick due to the waves so we dropped them on shore before heading to a second spot. The second location was definitely the sweet spot! We saw so many different type of fish plus eels, crazy looking coral and seaweed, and one group even saw a 3 foot shark.  The people on land were not disappointed because they were hanging out in an area flush with capuchin monkeys. We have been waiting the whole trip to see a white-faced capuchin monkey in the wild and we finally did! When we came back by to pick up the students now feeling a lot better, we had a snack of fresh pineapple and apples from our tour guides farm and the monkey was very interested in our snacks. We learned that monkeys only learned to eat bananas from people feeding them, they typically have a diet of other fruits (among other things).  Lunch was right next to the national park at Miss Edith's and was fantastic - grilled fish, fried plantains, rice, and curry vegetables.  We spend the afternoon getting caught up on classwork (we are here to learn after all!), and then had dinner at a fusion restaurant in town. Onwards to Guayabo National Monument and rafting the Pacuare River on Monday and Tuesday! I sure will miss our guides and the rastafarian vibe of this place.