Bohemian, colourful, exciting, beautiful, intriguing, relaxing, low key, bright energy, amazing people. That's how I would describe Puerto Viejo to anyone who asks me.
We first visited 10 years ago. I was focussed on escaping the Xmas Crazy Time and was hell bent on finding my family somewhere far, far away on a beach that went on for miles. I searched and searched and finally found it. A remote town in Costa Rica, 5 hours drive from San Jose Airport, populated by a variety of expats from all over the World, locals, surfers and backpackers. At that time it wasn't that busy with families or other groups. Just travellers and adventurers.
We arrived and took possession of our tiny house on the beach for the next 2 weeks, looked around and at each other and wondered what the hell we'd done. We were budding travellers but hadn't really tested our boundaries too much until then. Now we were out of our element, zip lining, white water rafting, hikes in the jungle and backpacking across the border with our 10 year old daughter from Costa Rica to Panama to spend a few nights on the Islands of Bocas Del Toro.
Philip, my partner, and I were adventure people but hadn't pushed the limits of our travel this far before. We'd taken a 2.5 year old Charlotte to Ireland/England and navigated everywhere with strollers, car seats and play pens but aside from that our travel had been to fairly common places. Sure Philip loved to test his limits on the ski hills every year and I had jumped out of an airplane and loved a good jet ski but really we weren't extreme sports enthusiasts (sort of but we had limits). We were just game to try anything once! Now we had a 10 year old along for the ride.
We LOVED it. The peace, calm, zen sea breezes, the wild pristine beach with no one on it. The town with CHARACTER with a Capital C. Puerto Viejo was luring us into her web. We were falling hopelessly in love.
Sloths, Monkeys, Tucans, Parrots, McCaws, lizards, snakes, spiders - oh my (I will swear to you all that I have not, so far, had or seen either a snake or spider in any of the houses I have rented in PV. There is plenty of Jungle around us so they don't bother us). Also, coming from Ontario, Canada, home of the mosquito, their mosquito population is almost non existent.
The rain forest - sigh, we even love it when it rains. It's still warm and brings some freshness to a hot and humid day. It's always welcome. CR is very close to the Equator so it's the same temperature year round.
We've returned every year for 10 years and recently built a house in Puerto Viejo, right next to the little cabin we first rented on the beach. Kismet? I think So!!
www.casalunabeachhouse.com