Puerto Viejo

Last weekend we went to Puerto Viejo, a beach town on the Caribbean side.

We arrived in Puerto Viejo at about 6:30 pm and it was already dark.  We found Pagalu, the hostel that we had heard great things about, but it was full.  At that point, we were starving and didn't want to be wandering around in the dark so we went to find any open hostel.  The first one we went to seemed okay, though I can't remember the name.  They were rent bikes out front, there were six beds per room, and it was close to everything.  As we were getting settled, we decided to take a look in the bathroom to assess the situation. When we stepped in, there was a GIGANTIC CRAB in the shower, which promptly scurried down into the drain.  The boys were willing to stay but I grabbed my belongings and demanded that we leave.  I do NOT mess with wild life.  Especially if I'm naked.

To the next hostel.  We found one that was connected to a restaurant called El Dorado. The restaurant looked really nice and it was only 10 dollars per night.  So we figured, why not?  Long story short, it was not a good idea.  They did not ask for copies of our passports.  If a hostel doesn't ask for some sort of identification, I would advise not staying there.  Also, it was located behind the restaurant near the dumpster, where we saw a cat eating a whole dead fish.  Just gross. It's probably not a good idea to stay somewhere that the entrance is totally hidden.  We were the only people staying in the hostel part of the restaurant, which we thought was pretty nice at first because we would have some privacy.  Then we realized that if no one else is staying there, it might be a little sketchy and definitely not as safe as it could be. As for the cleanliness, the place smelled like a bag of rotting bodies covered in dog poop. The solution that the workers came up with was to come in periodically and spray air freshener in the general area of the stink.  It did not help.  And there were no towels. Long story short, it ended up being a pretty bad decision.  Lesson learned:  Make arrangements before you traveling and have backup hostels to stay in just in case the one you planned on staying in is full. And don't stay in shady hostels, they made a movie called Hostel for a reason, so be careful.

The next night we ended up staying at Pagalu, which felt like paradise compared to El Dorado.  Warm showers with clean towels.  A cute little chill spot with Wi-Fi.  Free coffee and tea.  It had a gate at the front with a lock so no one could get in unless they had a key. It just had a nice and safe feel so we were very happy.  The girls and I decided to having a relaxing evening so we had dinner at a restaurant called Chile Rojo, a really cute and delicious place owned by a man from England.  We pretty much ate all of our meals there during the trip because the staff was friendly, the food was relatively reasonably priced and delicious, and it was very clean.

As for the beaches, I thought the ones at Manuel Antonio were far nicer, much safer, and a shorter bus ride away.  The ones in Puerto Viejo were still nice but they were quite a walk from the main strip of hotels and restaurants. Because they were on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, I think we were expecting to be blown away by the bright blue water and white sand but it wasn't quite like that. Also, they general feel of Puerto Viejo is not like the rest of Costa Rica that I have experienced so far, presumably because there is a large expat population and many people come from other parts of the Caribbean to work and live in Puerto Viejo. 

The one thing that we did that I absolutely loved with the Jaguar Reserve, where injured or abandoned animals are rescued, nursed back to health, and released back into the wild if they regain their health and strength.  We rented bikes ($5 for the whole day) and rode about two miles to the reserve.  There we got to see three- and two-toed sloths, frogs, owls, a jaguar, and snakes and play with monkeys.  I would say that it was well worth the $14 entrance fee.

My general impression of Puerto Viejo is that we may have had a better time if we had planned more efficiently but I still would rather spend a weekend in Manuel Antonio.  However, it is definitely worth a trip to see a totally different part of Costa Rica and go to the Jaguar Reserve.