Lisa Glaettli

Of course to be able to explore you gotta have the right equipment. With our helmets and glasses we were ready for whatever may come:). When we got to the Casa Wolaba, our hostel for the next couple of days, we got some bad news. They told us that they had expected us the day before, and since we werent there they had just given the room to somebody else a couple of minutes ago. We were really surprised and to be honest at the beginning I thought it was our mistake and we might had booked it wrong because we had booked so many hostels at once and it had been quite complicated with the dates. However I doublechecked and saw that on hostelworld we had chosen the right dates and I showed it to the receptionists as a proof. They admitted it was due to a problem in the system and were sorry but couldnt do anything about it. We realized it wasnt getting to a point so we started looking for another hostel until suddenly the girl who had gotten pur doubleroom said she would look for another hostel since it was her last night anyways and she only got our room because we weren‘t there, she hadndt even booked a private room in the first place. This was very friendly and fair from her and we thanked her a rhousand times. We couldnt check in right away, so we walked around the city and checked out some shops and stands. Puerto Viejo is the prettiest city i‘ve seen in Costa Rica so far. It reminded me a bit of Las Terrenas and made me feel at home right away. We could tell that the atmosphere was very different from what we had experienced at the pacific coast. While the other side was quite busy and definitely overhyped, over here we could really feel the carribbean warm, relaxed and easy-going vibe. In the evening we ate dinner at the hostel and met a couple of people whom I went out with later. There were many young backpackers, all like us, travelling through the country and living their best life. Noah was tired so after palying beerpong he went to bed and I joined the group. When we got to Johnny‘s, a bar right at the beach, it started to rain. At first the mood was going down and even though the bar inside was super busy we tried to hide from the pouring rain. Then, looking outside I saw people dancing in the rain along the music and singing their lungs out. I was so fascinated and hyped that I didnt care about my dry clothes anymore. I went outside and danced with them. A couple of minutes later I was completely wet and undescribably happy. This was what I had wished for on the carribbean side of the country, this was what I called pura vida, and pura vida it was. At some point I lost the rest of the group and ended up dancing with two guys of which one was getting wayyyyy too close to me the whole time. As hard as I tried dancing away he kept coming closer until I realized it was time to go. I didnt even tell them because I knew that he would try to hold me back (eww) and walked out. It was pretty dark and I wasnt sure about which way to go. My data didnt work either and there were some strange people standing at the side of the street so I decided to indulge into the carribbean-puertoviejo- lifestyle completely and take a tuc tuc home. Its actually the same like the motoconchos in Las Terrenas but they have 3 wheels and look more like a car. I found one and told him to bring me to Casa Wolaba, our Hostel. It all worked out perfectly and 15 minutes later I was lying in bed and ready to sleep:)
The next morning we woke up and rented bikes. This is how all the people in Puerto Viejo move from one place to another. It‘s quite big and when there‘s traffic, the bike is the best choice. We didnt really have a plan so we just drove along the sea, checked out some beaches and viewpoints until we got to the manzanillo nationalpark at the end of the road. There we had to continue by foot. We saw really pretty beaches woth crystal clear blue water and even went into a cave where we struggled getting out because the waves were crashing on the rocks pretty hard. On our way back we stopped at a foodstand to get typical mango con sal y chile, which is basically fresh cut mango with hotsauce and salt. What we didnt know was that zhe hot sauce was actually burning hot - my lips and mouth were dying. We went back to the village and ordered an Aperol Spritz and a frappuccino with chocolate. Quiz: Who got which beverage? Very hard to guess, right? Then we went to Cocles beach where we saw people playing Volleyball. Noah of course joined them and I did too for a while but when Noah went on to play on the field against the good players I was just a gread supporter and cheerleader:) Noah palyed like a professional, I was so happy and cheered, they even kicked out the current leaders from the volleyfield! At night we went to Shaku Con Fusion Restaurant with two guys we met. There we drank one of the best cocktails i‘ve had in CR, it was a mix of blackberry, coconut rum and dark rum. The restaurant was famous for its sauces. The idea was that you could choose a sauce and whether you wanted veggies, chicken, shrimps or the fish- catch of the day. All the sauces were homemade and glutenfree - juppieee! I ended up taking Sweet Guava Green Curry with fresh Mahi Mahi and it was delicious. Noah took the Mahi Mahi with Tandoori Sauce. I ate way to much and almost rolled home. I was so tired that I slept right away. Noah played beerpong with the others downstairs but came upstairs 20 mins later. What a day of pura vida!Leer más