Beach Day Part 2 – Punta Uva Beach

We decided to stop in Puerto Viejo to check out a couple of car listings we had seen on the ATEC bulletin board in town before heading home. One of the listings lead us out to Punta Uva. This is our second trip to this beach – it epitomizes a tropical beach in paradise and could well end up being our favorite beach. Didn’t buy the “vehicle” – a 3-wheel Piaggio which was similar to a rickshaw with pick-up truck bed, but had fun checking it out.

Beach Day Part 1 – Cahuita National Park

Warm but not hot, plenty of sunshine, not a cloud in the sky. Saturday promised to be a perfect “Beach Day!” So, we hiked the 2 or so kms to the bus stop and headed off for the beach at Cahuita National Park. We made a pre-beach detour in the village of Cahuita for a walk around town, a stop at the local thrift store and some excellent spicy fried chicken and a beer. By the time we reached the beach the clouds had rolled in and the surf was too rough to suit us. Instead of swimming we decided to just hike along the Park trail that parallels the beach. We got to see many regimens of army ants in action (photo did not turn out well) and some hard-working leaf cutter ants (look hard under the green leafs in the photo). As we were leaving the Park we watched 3 very small white-faced monkeys playing in a large tree…cute to watch – hard to photograph!!!

Surf Competition at Playa Cocles

Spent the day at Playa Cocles – between Puerto Viejo and Playa Uva – to watch a surf competition. Got to the beach a little early so we were able to take a short walk down to the local market to pick up water and some delicious “banana bread pudding cake.” Crossed over the Rio Cocles bridge to get there (see river photo). There were many extremely skilled surfers and it was exciting to watch. The waves were large and constant which is hard to tell from the short video. If you look carefully you may see a few surfers in the footage. Took the jungle path back to Puerto Viejo and stopped at one of the small restaurants along the way to catch a late lunch. Stopped for a quick swim and beer back in town before hitching a ride back home with a neighbor we ran into at the beach. Great way to spend a Wednesday.

Our new home in Costa Rica

We made it! Arrived in San Jose on a direct flight on Thursday and spent the night at “our usual place,” the Millenium II hotel near the airport. On Friday March 14th we made our way to our “new” home in “Hone Creek” – at least we think it ‘s Hone Creek…seems other “officials” refer to it as “Carbon” which we can’t find on the map. Someday soon we will know our real address!!! In the first few days we have been here we have already cleaned up the yard, purchased an “estanion” (large barrel for burning trash), hung the new Monkey Curtains in the bathroom/shower structure and painted the same. Gordie seems to have chased most of the bats out that were making a home under one of our beds and on the rafters. Much against our initial convictions, we did end up buying a small bottle of bug spray for a few ant (?) nests in cabinets. Peace with the animal kingdom is on its way now. It’s only been 5 days since we arrived but the progress is evident everywhere. And yes, there has been plenty of PLAY time. Spent a day visiting Playa Uvita and Playa Uva – too beautiful for words so taking camera next time…dinner at El Dorado in Puerto Viejo was also fun.