Day .5
After a 5-hour busride upon arriving at the San Jose Airport in Costa Rica, I arrived in Puerto Viejo on the souther Caribbean coast. It was about 5 in the evening, it had been raining and storming all day and clouds covered the little beach town and clouded what I hoped would be crystal-clear Caribbean waters...I wasn't yet blown away by the beauty of the Caribbean and was feeling strongly that my heart was still in Guatemala.
Unfortunately in a town with supposedly tons of budget hostel options, I was in desperate need for a private room in which I could dry ALL of my belongings including my pack (I'll get to that story later...) I found a quiant little hotel, with a lovely room included a much-needed fan and began the drying process. I was also happy to discover there was a laundry service just down the road and I put it at the top of my To Do list for the following day! As I had woken up at 3:30am that morning to get to the Guatemala City airport for an early flight, I was sound asleep earlier than my grandparents!
Day 1
Woke up early early early to walk around town and along the beach. The sun was shining, the waters clear, and the waves crashing. Had coffee and a bagel at a lovely little cafe, called Bread and Chocolate (where they also sell homemade truffles...still have to try them!) and then dropped off all my soaked clothing at the Lavanderia. Then I was off for a jog to the next town, Playa Cocles, just a few kilometers down the dirt road. When I arrived at Playa Cocles, I had indeed arrived. The beach stretched on and on and the waves were gorgeous. Shared the beach with just a few surfers out in the water. So, I started to warm up (literally) to Costa Rica...Spent the rest of the morning doing typical traveller things...repacking my bag, going to the bank, switching to a cheaper hotel room and by then it was time for lunch. Had a great, cheap meal at a soda - a casual restaurant where they serve basic set meals, called casados: meat, rice, beans, and salad. Kind of like the Costa Rican version of the plate lunch...but actually with some vegetables, too! Then I was off for a walk along Playa Negra, the black sand beach on the north side of Puerto Viejo. I sunbathed and frolicked in the waves and had the beach to myself for a half-mile each way...very surprising, considering Puerto Viejo is quite the tourist town. Happy to have spent some time on the beach and in the sun, because the clouds soon rolled in and wouldn't disappear for another two days!
About an hour after going to sleep I woke up to rain blowing in on me through the window....as well as a steady stream of rain leaking through the ceiling....onto my chest....within an instant, rain was pouring all over the bed and when I hopped out to somehow, in a sleepy stupor, rapidly remedy the situation, discovered that the floor was quickly flooding as well! I tossed a big garbage bag on the bed, underneath the leak and then attempted to tape up the leak...to no avail. I tossed all of my belongings....thankfully not yet wet (once again...) on to the still dry parts of the bed and looked around the room as if the walls were going to provide me with the answer to the question: What am I going to do for the next 6 hours?!? The bungalow was small and the bed frame attached to the wall...so there was no option to move the bed away from the waterfall in the middle of my room, and since my floor was now Costa Rica's newest lake, sleeping on the floor was not an option. I figured I might as well get some fresh air while I contemplate my dilemma and possible solutions, so I (luckily) went outside my room. I discovered the owner of the hotel was awake and assessing the situation of the hotel so I quickly called her attention to my own disaster. She gave me another room in which to sleep and I hesitatingly went to bed, hoping that the waterfall in my previous room would contain itself as not to drench all of my stuff!
Day 2
Morning came soon as I was up early to pack my bags and head to Punta Uva. I had planned to travel down the coast to another beach town, Punta Uva, about 7 km south of Puerto Viejo, to hopefully escape a bit of the tourist scene, find beaches which, according to Lonely Planet, were even more beautiful than Puerto Viejo, and maybe do a little surfing. Caught the bus in the early morning, and once aboard, the rain started again...Hard.....Hmm, maybe this wouldn't be a beach day after all, but no worries, because as it would turn out I would never arrive in Punta Uva. Unlike Puerto Viejo, which has a main town and a main bus stop, the area around Punta Uva is a just a series of houses and hotels along the main road, hidden among the jungle trees and with no particular destination in mind, I had no idea where to depart, and no desire considering the strength of the rains...Before I knew it, I had arrived in Manzanillo, a town about 17 km south of Puerto Viejo, reknowned for its huge, and hugely diverse, reef. No problem, as Manzanillo was next on my list, and I would stop in Punta Uva on my way back to Puerto Viejo in a few days. Well...there was one problem...the rain just kept coming and coming. The hiking guides said the trails were too muddy to travel on and of course snorkeling was out of the question. So I spent the rainy day enjoying my fabulous book - The God of Small Things - and in the evening, to quell my rainy-day blues, I finally pulled out my little luxury item and did what any girl might do while stuck inside on a rainy day in a beautiful beach town...painted my toenails! More reading, some meals here and there, and then, once again, off to bed to dream of clear skies and sunshine.
Day 3
Up early and the rains were still coming. Packed up my stuff and planned to head north a bit, to Playa Cocles. I figured as long as the rains were coming, I might as well be closer to other necessities...like better food and Internet access. Also in Playa Cocles is a bookshop, perfect for a rainy day! At the hostel, I sat just 50m from the beach as I sipped (free!) coffee and read some more while I watched the rain POUR down. The rains calmed and I made my way to Echo Books where I enjoyed, after two failed attempts to find something even palatable, a n amazing chai latte and a bitter chai truffle, while reading National Geographic. By the time I departed the bookshop, the sun's light was pushing through a thin layer of cloud cover and the air was warm. Beachtime for Jillian!! I'm staying right across the road from the beautiful beach in Playa Cocles I discovered on my jog the first day, which makes me a happy little camper (though, not literally camping...staying in a dorm room...that I have all to myself as of now! What a score!) Spent the afternoon on the beach, soaking in the sun and recovering my tan that was stolen by the chilly weather in Xela, Guatemala. Watched the AWESOME surfers rip it up on the huge waves that kept rolling in. Now I'm in Puerto Viejo updating this blog and listening to the rains fall once again outside! Hopefully they will pass and leave me with another beautiful day tomorrow....
