Green, Yellow, Red and Beach

Hello hello,

So...we like the Caribbean side a lot.  Minus the vicious mosquitos, making deet a necessity unfortunately.  Let's hope those anti-malaria pills are working!

Sunday morning we ended up staying a little bit later than initially planned in San Jose because there was some great sun in the morning and we wanted to bask in it.  We've been a bit sun deprived and, although we heard that the Caribbean side is sunny in the rainy season, we were worried it might not be.  We timed in perfectly, though, and just as the rain began we were on a bus headed to Cahuita.

As it turns out, the Carribean side is sunny :)  After our 4 hour bus ride, we spent the afternoon exploring town.  Cahuita is one of the bigger places we've been to with the exception of Quepos and Puerto Viejo (which will come soon).  It has a few main streets, two big beaches, and a national park.  It is also decently populated despite the low season, which is a welcome break from the emptiness that has characterized the rest of the places we have visited.  Sunday night we ate at a local restaurant to get a taste of the Carribean flavors.  It was refreshing, as the dishes have a wider variety of spices and ingredients, including coconut milk.

Monday morning we ate breakfast out (Ju wants to mention here that the gallo pinto she ate was subpar) and after failing to rent bicycles to go to Playa Negra, we decided to go to the national park.  Some clouds started to roll in and we were worried it might start to rain before we were able to reach the beach by foot.  Inside the national park, we saw the Costa Rican howler monkeys for the first time up close as well as numerous species of butterflies, birds, and more white faced capuchins.  The beach inside the park is lovely.  We feel as though we keep saying that everything we see is so beautiful but it just is!  Monday night we decided to stay the night in more luxurious accommodations.  As a result, we had a romantic homemade dinner and caught up with the latest Grey's Anatomy (so freaking good!).

The national park's beach

Howler Monkeys

A picture of our more luxurious hotel/hostel



Tuesday we woke up early to try again to find bikes.  Again we failed and ended up walking to Playa Negra.  In the high season it is probably a beautiful beach.  However, since the hotels lining the beach  aren't full, the beach has been sort of neglected and needed to be cleared of washed up branches and other vegetation.  In the afternoon Julianna worked on her Spanish while Tyler became acquainted with Puerto Viejo via Lonely Planet.  Earlier in the morning, we had moved to a much cheaper hostel, probably the best deal we have come across to date, and so treated ourselves to a night out.  We went out for happy hour before dinner at the most popular place in town.  We had a delicious meal of chicken fajitas.  Instead of giving us tortillas, they gave us patacones (large, smashed, fried rounds of plantains) which made the meal different and maybe even more delicious.  We washed down dinner with each of our favorite national beers.



At Coco's with our huge platter of fajitas!

Yesterday, after seeing a poster advertising an apartment for rent, we went ahead and took (a very informal) tour.  Our first serious attempt at living somewhere!  We obviously need to be set up with a job before we settle in somewhere, but it shows how much we like it here.  After that, and a relaxed last morning in Cahuita, we headed to the bus station and caught a bus to Puerto Viejo.  Our first impressions have been favorable, but we'll let you know what we think after we have truly experienced it.  So keep tuned in.....
Keep posting comments!  We've been missing those recently...

Pura Vida, or, as they say on the Caribbean side, peace love and surf!

Ty and Ju