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| Some tattoos for the bus ride |
We got to Puerto Viejo around 7 and went to get some dinner. There are 3 types of rice and beans dishes in Costa Rica: gallo pinto, which is when the rice and beans are mixed together, arroz con frijoles, when the rice and beans are served separately, and rice and beans (in english) which is only found in the province of Limón (where we were) and it has a coconut flavor. So of course I had to try that while I had the opportunity and it was delicious.
After dinner we took a taxi to our hostel, which was at a different beach called Punta Uva, about 15 minutes away. I ended up doing all the reservations for this trip and the place that I found was great. It was kinda like a giant tree house, filled with bright colors, hammocks, and all kinds of beach related decorations.
So that first night we went straight to the beach even though it was dark and we sat around talking since this was our first real time together to catch up since being apart for 2 months.
In the morning we were all awoken early to howler monkeys screaming. I had been used to this in my study site, but it was quite a shock for some of the others in my group. We then went off in search of breakfast but everything was closed so we ended up buying food from the grocery store and cooking. Then it was off to the beach again.
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| The cat that slept with me the first night. |
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| There were bats on the wall. We thought they were fake until one flew away. |
We ended up splitting up into 2 groups, one went snorkeling on the beach near us and the other took bikes to a beach that was further down called Manzanillo. I went with the bikes and it was so much fun. There was a beautiful look out and some amazing reefs that came right up to the beach.
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| We hummed out the periwinkle |
We got ice cream for lunch and then bought food to cook for dinner once again. Then that night we watched V for Vendetta at the hostel and then headed to the beach for a bonfire, s'mores, and night swimming. There is glowing phytoplankton in the ocean so every time the waves crashed we could see these little sparkles of light; it was so magical.
The next day (Saturday), I woke up early again due to the howler monkeys so I walked to get some fresh bread and then went to the beach where I met a friend who had also woken up early. We walked along the beach aways followed by the dog who lived at the hostel, stopped and went swimming, and then turned around.
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| I got a tan! |
Then we checked out and took a taxi to Puerto Viejo. We got lunch there and wandered around looking at all the brightly colored touristy shops. We then took the 4 o'clock bus back to San José and we were all exhausted by the time we made it back. This afternoon we are off to watch a soccer game (soccer is a really big deal here so we couldn't leave without having experienced it).
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| The grocery store |
