Puerto Viejo - Costa Rica!!!!!

Trip Start Mar 24, 2010

Trip End Ongoing

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Rocking J'S Puerto Viejo

Flag of Costa Rica Puerto Viejo, Province of Limon, Costa Rica
Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The private transfer across to Costa Rica from Bocas del Toro was wonderful, though it was the only border that any of us had encountered a 'problem' as none of us had continuing tickets out of the country! Conveniently there was a Internet office right next door, that charged us $3USD per document, to print off our tickets! We got dropped off at Rocking J's which had a reputation as being the best backpackers in town! The place was HUGE, with space for dorms, private rooms, self contained rooms, hammock hotels, camping and vans! It was a visually impressive place too and with the addition of '@ E's', J's brothers bar on site, we knew it was the perfect place to spend the weekend! It was late arvo by the time we arrived so Steve ran straight to the beach for a surf as a storm front caused some early Caribbean swells to kick in and the girls walked into town to suss out a place for dinner! Just down the road from J's, we found a sushi restaurant with an all you can eat offer for $20. We were all sold so after freshening up back at the hostel, we arrived at the restaurant with empty stomachs

Back Grass at Rocking J's

! We were first served with a miso soup followed by the biggest platter of sushi and sashimi (probably about 60 items). We demolished that plate (I think the restaurant staff hadn't realised what they were in for) and were promptly served another plate (about 40 items) which was again snapped up! Two more plates ensued before we all had to call it quits as our stomachs were about to explode!!! The staff made a couple of 'we're shocked and impressed' comments before we rolled our way back to J's! The rest of the evening was spent drinking and listening to the live band at @ E's!

On Saturday morning, Steve ran down to Playa Cocles for another surf as the storm swell was still around and the girls walked down to have a look. By late morning it had started raining so we settled in for grilled cheese sandwiches and beers for lunch. In the afternoon we walked around Puerto Viejo town before heading back to J's for a relax on the hammocks! In the evening we went to Flip Flop Cafe, which was a beautiful restaurant serving amazing pastas, curries and local cuisine. Jenna enjoyed a salmon and dill pasta whilst Steve ate a fresh fish burger and the price was not more than shopping at the supermarket! The house red was also delicious (from Chile) so we enjoyed a proper night of wining and dining! Once back at the hostel and after a few drinks, we were told of a party being held at an exclusive hotel up the mountain

Rocking J's Mozaic

. It was $12USD a ticket, but sounded worth the visit! When we arrived we were ushered to a beautiful outdoor pool area with a full bar and dance floor. There were cabanas, couches, palm trees and cool electronic music which was a fresh change from the standard hostel bars we were used to!

Sunday was 'bike day' as the five of us decided to hire some awesome back brake bikes and ride the 26km round trip to Manzanillo, a little beach town south of Puerto Viejo. The ride itself was stunning as the road is lined with boutique hotels, cafes, houses and tropical jungle! The beach itself was a little bit of a let down as the one just 10 minutes from J's was a lot nicer! However, on the ride back we saw two sloths which was amazing! That evening Cat decided to get braids, so we all watched in hysterics as the corn rolls appeared!! After that excitement, we went to a local restaurant for dinner to celebrate!

Monday was our last full day in Puerto Viejo and it was sunny and beautiful! We walked down to Playa Cocles and spent the day swimming and relaxing. As Flip Flop Cafe was so amazing, we decided to have our last meal on the Caribbean there again! It was just as amazing as we remembered!

Today we are saying goodbye to Puerto Viejo, the Caribbean and to Julia who we have been traveling with since Cartagena! Cat and Laura are coming with us to Santa Teresa, our first Pacific stop in Costa Rica!!!!!

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The Hammock Hotel	Mosaic at Rocking J's	Saturday Night Drinking at Rocking J's	Hammock Hotel (where the girls slept)
Playing Pong at Rocking J's Hostel	Mmmmmm!!!	Mosaic at Rocking J's	Back Grass by Night
Bike Day	Steve and Jenna Cruising	Manzanillo	Steve and the Rasta Palms!
Doing a Wheelie at Playa Manzanillo	Playa Manzanillo	Playa Manzanillo	Picnic Tables at Playa Manzanillo
Sloth	Bike Day!	Bike Day	The Road Back to Rocking J's
Dinner at a Restaurant in Town	Nice Wine!! Not Common!	The Walk to Playa Cocles	Playa Cocles
Crabbie Coming Out of His Hole!	Chilling at Rocking J's	Have You Seen This Man?	Have You Seen These Shorts?
Rio Christo Resurrected	Back Gate at Rocking J's - Cute!!