Worth the Wait: Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Beach bumming in a small Caribbean beach town sounded like a perfect way to end our 6-month trip through Mexico and Central America. Or so we thought. The foul, fishy stench of rotten seaweed hit our nostrils as we stepped from the cramped bus and looked out at a rather depressing, empty, and underwhelming black sand beach. It was pouring with rain, and we had to quickly fish out our ponchos. We thought, this couldn’t be it, could it?

We unpacked at the hotel. I placed an uneaten apple on the table. The next day, Joe picked it up and asked me why I’d taken a single bite out of the apple. “I haven’t. Why would I do that?” We inspected it. It was a tiny bite, like that of a child, but the tooth marks looked like a human’s. We slept with the doors and windows closed and were suitably freaked out. How had something or someone gotten into our room, taken a bite of the apple, and left while we were asleep? It was like the beginning of a horror movie.

The rain continued, and when I say that it rained, I mean it RAINED. Full-blown tropical downpours and storms. I’m not exaggerating when I say that there wasn’t even a single minute of respite from it. We sat on our covered balcony, playing yet another game of cards, staring out in utter dismay, not knowing what to do.

We heard a crash in the room and flew in to set a cat on the bed. “How the hell did you get there?” It answered our question by jumping into a hole in the netting hanging from the ceiling and disappearing into the crevice of the roof somewhere. That explains it; if a cat could do that, so could a monkey. Devastated that I was asleep, I would have loved to see a monkey in our room! Well, I would have screamed at first, but it would still be fun. Later, we did scream with horror when we saw a giant, fat, horrible rat’s tail in the tree opposite us, "Euergh what the fuck is that?!" but then our screams turned to “aaawws” when we realised it was just a cute little possum! We laughed, maybe things aren’t always as bad as they first seem.

With four days planned in Puerto Viejo and the same four days left of Central America before flying home via Cancun, we were devastated that we’d wasted two of them shuffling around the hotel and twiddling our thumbs in local cafes. We researched other places we could go, but decided that it would be a waste of our precious time trying to outsmart nature and her weather.

We waited for it to rain itself out; fingers and toes crossed, we would get some time to enjoy what Puerto Viejo had to offer.

It did stop and left us with two beautiful days to see what Puerto Viejo is really about. I’m so glad we stuck it out because Puerto Viejo is about beautiful beaches, incredible wildlife, and a laid-back Caribbean vibe. All in all, exactly what we wanted.

If nothing else, we were incredibly grateful for those two days; nothing in this life is guaranteed, not even sunshine in the Caribbean! I’ve honestly never appreciated the sun on my skin, the sand beneath my blanket as I read beneath a palm tree, and cooling off with a swim in the cool, salty spray quite so much. I should never have taken it for granted, not for a moment, especially as we were about to say our goodbyes to this magical part of the world.

Our last day was particularly special; we rented a cute e-bike and tootled along to the wonderful local wildlife sanctuary. Everyone there has such a passion for protecting, rescuing, and caring for the animals. We were given a heartwarming tour, where every creature, big and small, has its own little story. There was an adorable, derpy little toucan who was brought in because locals found it on the floor, unable to fly, but upon examination was found to have no injuries. The staff was confused as to why it wouldn’t fly, but it turned out to have neurological problems and would never survive in the wild, so it now lives a happy life hopping about on the ground in the sanctuary.

There’s a caiman found in a hotel bathroom of a honeymooning couple, a sweet pair of boobies (not that kind!) recovering their damaged wings, a sloth so tiny it looks like a baby but actually suffers from a growth limiting condition and an ocelot known as “the little bastard” because every time they have tried to release it, not only did it return but went on a murderous rampage eating half of the other animals in the sanctuary!

After we headed to yet another gorgeous beach, here we heard the familiar sound of howler monkeys, yet this time we got to see them in action and watch them create those haunting, thunderous growls up close. It was a magical moment. After all, wildlife is what Costa Rica is all about.

On our way home, I screamed at Joe, “STOP!” He panicked, thinking something was seriously wrong, before he could ask what was wrong, I added “SLOTH!” We pulled over and drove back to see the sloth, which, luckily for us, was low down in the tree and awake, the easiest sloth to spot the whole trip, and the only one we’d seen of its kind. A Hoffman’s two-toed sloth, or as I like to call it, the piggy nosed sloth.

I didn’t think we were going to get to see one, but there we were on our last day, holding each other, gazing upwards, smiles plastered on our faces, thinking how lucky we were, and how a little patience goes a long way.

Thank you for reading! Hearts and tips are always welcome and your support is very much appreciated.

This story was originally published on Medium

If you enjoyed this, you may also like 👇