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Costa Rica - Pura Vida

December 2017 - January 2018
A 32-day adventure by Sophia Read more
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  • TravelerCosta Rica - Pura Vida
    Day 21

    Playa Chiquita

    January 17, 2018 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Small, but impressive

    Since I’ve got to seen nearly every beach in the area of Puerto Viejo there was no beach left than Playa Chiquita. It’s a very nice beach though. Like its name Playa Chiquita is pretty small but therefore, one can nearly enjoy to have the whole beach for himself. Mia and I went by bicycle and wondered why we never had come here before. It’s also a nice setting for taking a lots of photos - and with a lots of photos I mean many.

    When we returned I asked Elisabeth, the cleaning lady of our hostel, if she would like to cook together after her shift - She already invited me once to eat from her prepared food the other day. It was a lot of fun and I’m always open to learn some new latin american recipes.

    In the evening we made some music in the living room. Then Jorge, Vicky and I swam to the stranded boat near the hostel and set on top to watch the spangled sky and the colorful lighted beachside. In the night we went out with the whole hostel.

    There are only a few days left in the Lazy Loft..    Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica - Pura Vida
    Day 26

    Playa Biesanz

    January 22, 2018 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Pacific Coast

    After I had left the Lazy Loft and Puerto Viejo behind me, I reunited with Aina at the Pacific Coast in Manuel Antonio. The Pacific Coast is very different from the Caribbean Coast, especially this part. The beaches are incredible and the best thing is that the landscape is dominated by hills which offer the most stunning views over the whole beachside of Manuel Antonio. Manuel Antonio is a small town which has no real center but has very distributed places and is obviously a touristic town. The hostel we stood in was one of the last buildings at the end of the town. For the price it was ok but nevertheless, I missed our good old Lazy Loft. The weather was so much better than at the Caribbean side - though the sun is very hot here!! The first beach we visited is a small and more hidden beach called Playa Biesanz. It was nice to stay there for a few hours. Then we wanted to go up the hill because some people told us we could see everything from above. The only thing they didn’t tell us, were that this place is not a public place but a Hotel of the Spanish hotel chain Parador. Because we really were looking forward to see the view point Aina invented the story about her parents are going to visit Costa Rica and we would like to inform us about the prices of the rooms. We became a private guided tour and some free drinks. The Parador is like a resort. They have tennis, miniature golf, a swimming pool with an incredible view and so on..I think we should visit some more hotels and invent some other stories..In the afternoon Patrick and Luca arrived in Manuel Antonio. It was nice to meet them again! Together we went to get some dinner in the restaurant "El avian" with the best view of the sunset. After dinner we went to a bar and played some pool.

    It was a first nice day in Manuel Antonio - in another town than Puerto Viejo - reunited with Aina and the Swiss guys - the best weather - sunset - ...    Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica - Pura Vida
    Day 27

    Manuel Antonio National Park

    January 23, 2018 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Probably one of the most beautiful National Parks in Costa Rica

    The day couldn’t start better than with our daily delicious breakfast - Pancakes. At 9 a.m. we wanted to meet with the guys at the National Park of Manuel Antonio. But with the hora costa ricense we showed up at 10 a.m. It’s always the same story - tourists pay 16$ entry whereas locals pay 3$. But in the end, I would say that the 16$ were worth it. In the beginning the paths were pretty crowded and we nearly couldn’t see any animals. But after a while the main path is divided into various trails so the crowd was parted and the park seemed more tranquil. We saw many sloths and families of raccoons and monkeys on our way who tried to robb our food. I never saw so many raccoons in one place and so near. It was very impressive. They look so cute but can get very aggressive - so better don’t trust their cute faces! We did all the circular routes through the park what takes you a whole day. The park includes various beaches every beach has its own shape and charm. Some with rocks, some with white sand,..In the end, we stood at the beach we liked the most were again we were attacked by some hungry monkeys. In the evening we had a beautiful sunset - I really missed the sunsets at the Caribbean coast!! In the evening the guys visited us in the hostel and we played the drinking game „bus driver“ what especially, hit Luca and me because we had to take the most bus drives. After that we fell pretty tired but happy in our beds. Good night!Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica - Pura Vida
    Day 29

    Uvita National Park

    January 25, 2018 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Cool Vibes

    Meanwhile, the guys have already left Costa Rica and Aina and me are heading to Dominical. Dominical is a really small village but it was nice to have a center after Manuel Antonio’s city center and its places were located far apart from each other. Our accommodation Cool Vibes Beach Hostel turned out to be a real place to relax and calm down, located directly at the beach. After our backpack hostel without any luxury this was simply a palace: Big rooms, private bathrooms, a huge kitchen, chill out areas with couches and TV and last but not least a swimming pool surrounded by hammoks and deckchairs. That was exactly the first thing what we did - to jump into the ice cold water of the pool. This day just ended in a lazy and laid back afternoon.

    The next morning we started our day trip to Uvita. It’s a nice beach town south of Dominical at the Pacific Coast. They have a National Park that offers a large beach side, adorned by tropical rain forest facade and in the middle at ebbe, a path becomes visible were one can discover a part that looks similar to a whale’s tale fin. In the end we laid underneath tree and watched a huge parrot family eat the fruits of the tree. Uvita is really a visit worth it. Such a pity we had not enough days to discover all the cool places.

    The time passed way too quick and so it was already the time to say farewell to Aina because she would leave Costa Rica and fly back to Spain. Therefore, the last night was celebrated a lo máximo!! Hasta pronto..:)    Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica - Pura Vida
    Day 32

    Jack Blù Beach Club

    January 28, 2018 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    My last days in Costa Rica

    Without getting any sleep after partying the whole night I had to take the bus at 5 a.m. to get to Jacó were I would meet Sandro who also stood with us in Lazy Loft in Puerto Viejo. Tired as I was, I slept through the whole bus ride. When I finally arrived in Jacó I had to ask various people to get to the hostel. It was 9 a.m. but hot as usual and packed with my backpack I was sweating to the fullest! In the end I asked a man who told me that I had walked too far and that I had already passed the hostel by far. I think he saw my horrified facial expression and felt very sorry for me that he borrowed me his bike. When I arrived at the hostel I was bathed in sweat but happy to have found my final destination! Sandro hadn’t arrived yet so I decided to leave the luggage and bring back the bike. Lucky me, I could already get into my room when I came back and take a shower. The hostel is really beautiful and the best accommodation I had so far during my trip in Costa Rica. The room was very spacious, with private bathroom and the best thing was that a typical Costa Rican breakfast and the Swimming Pool Club nearby was included in the hostel price. Therefore, I decided to try out the the Jacó Blù Beach Club where guests normally have to pay 20$ to get into the club. When Sandro arrived we went to beach which is located directly outside the Beach Club. I had really low expectations of Jacó because all the opinions I heard so far about this place were that Jacó is no special place and that the beachside is not worth to visit - however, we really enjoyed our stay here in Jacó. There are a lot of bars, restaurants, shops and Jacó is famous for its good surfer waves. There are two beautiful beaches in the surrounding near Jacó - Playa Herraduras and Playa Hermosa. Both are quite beautiful and very tranquil.

    The second day we spent the whole day at the beach in Herraduras and the third day we rented a moped to discover some waterfalls and Playa Hermosa - such a pity that the quads were too expensive to rent, so we had to reject the idea. Still it was pretty fun and we would have never expected the waterfalls to be this beautiful. The waterfalls were pretty hidden and we had to pass some gravel paths. But the torture was worth it. There were 5 ascending waterfalls with a basin each to jump in which was loads of fun!

    In the end of my travelblog, I want to say a big thank you to all the people I have met during my stay who made my stay to be a real special experience - especially to Mia, Aina, Patrick, Luca and Sandro!!    Read more

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