Sobre Las Olas

Cahuita is a laid back little caribeño town in southern Costa Rica. We arrived as a group of five early friday morning after a five hour bus ride from San Jose. Fleeing the rain that is flooding the rest of the country, we welcomed the heat and sweat as we wandered through the dirt roads in search of lodging. To our delight we found some cabinas al frente del mar with a yard full of palm trees and hammocks! La Señora, Mercedes was a delightful woman as she sat on the porch sewing clothes for herself and children. The niños showed us their fresh catch for the day; langosta (lobster) as the gatos looked on expectantly.


One little guy in particular stole my heart; 3 year old Chernan had a smile that could make you melt, and a head full of curls. Quite mature for his age (already riding a two wheel bike), he rolled with a crew of older brothers whose nick-names were Hamster, Hongos (mushroom), Cebollita (little onion), y CocoRey (coconut king). These guys were our entertainment for the duration of our stay as they raced eachother up the palm trees, and showed us the perisoso (sloth) that lived in the tree!

Our days in Cahuita were made up of lounging in the hammocks, strolling along the beach in the National Park and swimming in the most crystal clear water any of us have ever seen. The ocean on the first day was so calm that the tiny waves
rolled up like soft glass. And there were sanddollars everywhere! So many that you had to shuffle your feet as you waded out so as not to crack them. On our walks through the jungle we spotted monkeys, enormous butterflies, woodpeckers, beautifully colored birds, a turtle and a yellow pit viper! Did a snorkeling trip our last day... the reefs were shallow and had seemed to have lost a bit of their luster but the amount and variety of fish were incredible. The evenings found us dining by candelight outside overlooking the ocean, then at the local hotspot, Cocos Bar getting dance lessons with sweaty fat men...

Onward to Puerto Viejo which is a bigger town with a definite tourist feel but still a cool caribbean rasta vibe. The town is certainly a bit empty since it is low season for tourists, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. Our cabina has a small kitchen so for our last meal with Emma and Kristin we decided to cook...our first of many homemade dinners abroad!

Sent the girls back to the states on tuesday to officially begin the roughing it part of our journey...
Staying now in Punta Uva in a secluded little cabina literally cut into the jungle. The beaches and surroundings are the wildest we have seen yet. Days are spent biking,swimming, yogaing, writing and cooking. Could continue this lifestyle for quite some time i think...

Pura Vida,
j

(photos to come soon i promise!)