Since I shoot most of my pictures while traveling, I figured why not include a little bit of backstory in the shape of a blog on my website?
So, here we are. Welcome to my first blog post about my wonderful first visit to Central America. To Costa Rica and Panama to be exact and in this post I’ll talk about my time in Puerto Viejo/Costa Rica.
So, this has been my first longer trip since the pandemic and also some time before. I’ve been to the states and Asia, but never south or Central America. This trip was a present from me to me to my 30th birthday and all I knew was, I wanted to go somewhere warm and tropical. Central/South America also appealed to me because I speak some Spanish and also Costa Rica and Panama are the two safest countries on the continent. And after doing some (read: a lot!) of research I figured out my route. After flying to San Jose I would continue to Puerto Viejo, then cross the border to Panama, stay in Bocas del Toro, then go to Panama City, then San blas, then Panama City and back home. Well, that was the plan and plan sometimes change. But more about that later.
The first thing I noticed about Costa Rica was how insanely green and lush the country is. I drove from the capital, San José, to Puerto Viejo by bus and I kept looking out of the window, stunned by the beauty of all the trees and flowers I could see.
Ok, now let’s talk about Puerto Viejo. It’s a rather small but not too small Caribbean town surrounded by lots of beautiful beaches. Or so they say. Ok this may come across as super spoiled, but the beaches there were far from my favorites (in general) and definitely not as beautiful as those I visited in Panama. Maybe my expectations were just too high, because I read everywhere how beautiful they are, or because the weather wasn’t the best? I’ll never know, but I spent a whole day cycling the coast from one beach to the next, starting at Playa Cocles down to Punta Uva but nothing really blew me away. My favourite was actually the closest to my hotel – Playa Cocles! It’s fairly long and wide and clean and I had some lovely swims there.
Now about the town in general! Puerto Viejo definitely has some nice restaurants and bars, along with various shops and supermarkets. It is definetely a nice place to hang out, walk around, have drinks, just enjoying come caribbean vibes. In general I think Puerto Viejo is nice to visit for 2-3 days, but after that you’ll probably be ready to move on. Although I’ve met a lovely Swiss woman who returns to Puerto Viejo again and again because she likes it so much, so in the end you’ll never know until you’ve been there!
Some restaurants or bars I can recommend are Koki Beach (the cocktails and the banana tower dessert, oh my gooood), Grow Puerto Viejo (good veggie food!), the cocktail bar on the corner next to it which doesn’t seem to be on Google maps and Bread What What for coffee, juice, breakfast and anything really. There are also many so called „sodas“, the traditional Costa Rican eateries that service rice and beans with veggies, seafood or meat. I honestly don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. And of course there is also some street food, which you can try.
My highlight in the area was definitely the Jaguar Rescue Center! I loved loved loved the tour and I think they are doing an amazing job, helping injured or left alone wild animals and trying to getting them back out in the wilderness, while caring for those who wouldn’t survive on their own. It was touching to hear the background stories of all the animals who live with them and have found a safe forever home. I highly recommend visiting it while you’re there, I’m still thinking about it months later and love following them on Instagram.
I have also visited the Cahuíta National Park which is kind of a must do while in the area. Tours usually start with some snorkeling and continues with a tour through the park where you might see snakes, monkeys, lizards and other animals.
Speaking of animals – this town could also be called spider town in my opinion. I have never seen anything as spider infested I have to say. So I lived between the town center and Playa Cocles and as soon as I left my hotel and went to the right for like 50m, spider webs lined the streets. Like, they were simply everywhere. Along the power poles, between the power cords, … Don’t get me wrong, they’re not particularly in your way – those suckers have thankfully figured out where humans don’t walk so unless you walk straight into the jungle you’ll probably not walk into a web, bur still they are VERY visible. While cycling down the coast I couldn’t have counted all the 8-legged „friends“, even if I wanted to. Thankfully they stay outside and out of peoples way so there is not really the danger they would come into your room. That helped me a lot, because unfortunately I’m very scared of those little bastards. I’ll spare you the photos – google banana spiders, if you want to.
The hotel I stayed at, Hotel Escape Caribeno, is definitely a recommendation from me. The location is perfect in my opinion, because it’s outside of town and therefore quiet but still in safe (more about safety in a minute) walking distance. Their property is very well taken care of, I loved their gardens and in general it felt like everybody working there really cared about their job and guests. From the property you can go directly to the sea and to a beautiful path that leads you down to playa cocles. Definitely recommend that! Their pool is very nice, they have hammocks, AC, a safe, so really all you need. It’s not luxurious, but cozy and nice and fairly priced, I would stay there again!
A bit about the safety in Puerto Viejo. I never felt unsafe, however I think there are some ground rules you should follow. And actually those recommendations hang almost in every toilet in restaurants and bars, so I do think they care about making it safe(r). Don’t go to the beach at night unless you’re in a big group, don’t cycle by yourself at night, stay where other people are. And never leave your valuables at the beach unattended. I used a waterproof phone case* to go swimming by myself, so I put my phone, key and some cash in there and only left my towel and flip-flops at the beach. I also always carried a pocket alarm* with me, this just gave me some piece of mind.
Other stuff I would recommend you to bring into the Caribbean in general are good ear plugs* (AC can be noisy, along with howler monkeys, birds or the occasional after hour party), loooots of mosquito spray with a high amount of DEET and an insulating water bottle* because it’s nice to have some cold water with you as it’s super hot and humid.
So, as this has already gotten long enough I will leave you with some more pictures and my story will continue in the next post!
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