CAHUITA & PUERTO VIEJO

Apologies for the break in posting - our days have been pretty busy over the last week.  Cahuita is a tiny town on the north eastern coast of Costa Rica, near the Panamanian border - stayed a a nice self catering chalet about 200m from the beach. The little town a a nice vibe at night and discovered a great little restaurant - large red snapper and 3 crayfish halves (plus dessert of chocolate cake) for $14!! One of the best meals we've had on our trip and excellent value. People earning Dollars (or Sterling) can really have a good time here!

The following day we drove to Puerto Viego which is 17km further along the coast and instantly fell in love with it. It's the picture in my head of what I thought a casual, little beach front town should look like. Headed for as little beach front bar, ordered 2 Mojitos and enjoyed the view and vibe.

We've only got 3days here, but we'll definitely be back! Went to a couple of really nice beaches on Thursday - though maybe not quite as nice as the Pacific side - and generally relaxed. More of the same on Friday and then back to our new favourite spot for happy hour ;) - drinks are really pricy here - R38 for a beer! Then this bunch of 4 guys appeared, set up their (very basic) gear and started playing some REALLY good music!

One of the nearby beaches

The guitarist has an outstanding voice. Singing Spanish/Calyso/Reggae

LOVE the soap box bass!!!

Everyone here owns a bicycle - all the same style and they're just left lying around outside shops, on the beach etc but always there when the owner comes back.

We're going to Bocas del Toro which is a town on Isla Colon which is one of a group of islands just off the caribbean coast on Panama really close to the border with Costa Rica. We'll be there for 3 days and then return to Puerto Viejo.

HERRADURA

A few days ago, we took a trip to Jaco and Herradura - just over an hour up the coast - both large (compared to where we're staying) towns - lots of condominiums and geared towards the American market.
Drove into an enormous gated community called Los Suenos in Herradura - there are gated communities inside the gated community! - complete with a golf course and a marina with billions of dollars with of game fishing boats. It was a cloudy day, so apologies for the "flat" pics.

Looking from the marina back to part of Los Suenos

Pick a boat......

Any takers Des or Terry?

We then drove to the Marriot Hotel and had a look around really beautiful place.

We then drove back into Jaco for some great fish tacos and cold beers. Saw this sign - seems like Jacob is extending his business interests into Costa Rica....

Today we're off inland up a serious mountain pass to a nature reserve, then a few days on the Caribbean coast and then onto Lake Arenal. Wil keep you posted.

PORTASOL & MANUEL ANTONIO

A few days ago, we went up the road from where we are staying, to an eco development called Portasol. 630+ hectares of mountains and forest with a beautiful river with swimming holes and a couple of waterfalls. Looked at a few pieces of land and quite liked this one with lots of trees, a gentle slope and a limited sea view.

 

Manuel, an ex-Mocambiquan Portuguese, the owner of the lodge, took us into Quepos to meet Allan, who owns a stunningly-situated hotel in Manual Antonio, along with 4 restaurants and a functions venue. He was very informative and helpful and gave us a lot of his time – really a valuable contact for the future.

View from the pool deck at the hotel

We've been back to Dominical and are liking it much more than our first visit. We met a lovely South African couple a few days ago and we had lunch together at a restaurant there – one of the best cheese and bacon burgers I have ever had – a real treat! :)

 

Yesterday we went to a beach in Manual Antonio next to the Nature Reserve– really lovely – nice breakers for body surfing and a lot of guys out on boogie and surfboards.

 

Almost all the beaches we have been to have been stunning - just wish the water was 3 or 4 degrees colder!

STARTING OFF IN COSTA RICA

On Sunday we flew from Panama City to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. Stayed at a great hotel in a self catering unit. Went for a walk to the local park across the way whilst waiting for our car to be delivered to the hotel. Hundreds of people enjoying the really pleasant weather – having picnics, jogging, cycling etc – there was even a best dressed Chihuahua competition! Very impressed with how clean everything was – recycling bins all over the place.

  

We then picked up our car and headed out of San Jose towards Quepos. Our Self-catering unit was around 20 k's outside it and where we were basing ourselves for the next week. Got there around 4:30 unpacked and relaxed. The next day we drove along the coast to Dominical – a real “hippy” ,(sorry for showing my age) cool spot. Some people camping under the trees along the beach, all trying to make a living selling handicrafts, clothing etc. Hostels, surf schools, yoga classes, massages on the beach, little “sodas” - a bit of everything. Saw an interesting rock outcrop along the coast and decided to drive further along to see if we could reach it. Found the little “town” of Dominicalito (little Dominical) with a little dirt road leading to the beach.

The beach at Dominical

 

Our Daihatsu Bego 4WD for the next four weeks....

We then drove back to Quepos for lunch at a restaurant on the shore serving really great Costa Rican food and then a drive back to La Palapa where we are staying.

Part of the view from our lunch spot

Beautiful little bay at the end of the road in Quepos

On Tuesday we went to Uvita along the coast which is famous for its "whales tail" - a narrow strip of land when exposed at low tide, connects to a rock formation offshore. It's a national park and about a 20 min walk from the office to the tail. Did a bit of snorkelling - saw quite a few fish, but the visibilty wasn't great.
Quite a nice little town - its even got an interior design store, which was closed when we were there. Will definitely go back to this area to what rentals are available.

Looking back from the tail towards the mainland

Snorkelled along the rocks further out on the RHS

A TINY TOWN CALLED LA CONCEPCION

On our second last day in Panama, travelling back towards the City, we turned in at a little town called Pocri and then found the road down to the beach and came to a tiny little town called La Concepcion. It faces a large bay with some rocks and immediately, Gail and I loved it! Quaint little houses along the beaches and fishing boats on the beach – almost totally deserted on a Saturday!

  

We even found a semi-completed “soda” which is a traditional building that is a bar and restaurant serving local food – what a great spot for a beach-front restaurant! And there's a plot next door for a little guest house. Pipe dreams perhaps, but it's fun!

Not a bad sea view!