punta uva heaven
Puerto viejo doesn’t look too bad, but my mission there was to get a few groceries to tide me over when grub wasn’t to be found in punta uva. This isn’t a problem when one has transportation (rental car, scooter, etc) in punta uva, but as a bus-passenger I needed to be prepared. Basically for me, that means coffee and peanut butter sandwiches. Oh, and rum.
I chose casa viva as my spot for 3 nights. A few posts on the lonely planet message board convinced me that despite the minimal web-page this was the place I wanted to be. Oh, I was so right. The beach in front is stunning but the property itself makes it perfect. I tend to the geeky side when it comes to birding (ok and with a few other subjects as well) but in ALL my travels thru panama and costa rica this is the first place where WITHOUT EVEN TRYING I saw all 3 toucan varieties in an afternoon and added so many birds to my checklist that before I finished walking the smallish property I had to go back to my room where my bird-book was for fear of forgetting some!
Then I donned my swimsuit and body-surfed off the amazing beach. Then I returned to the immaculate wooden cabana (with the FIRST bathroom that had a big counter along side the sink). Then I looked thru the in-room book selection cuz I think I may finish my book here. Then I toured the rest of the property and found even more birds (and when I’m able to upload photos you’ll see toucans). Then I sat on my verandah and had a rum with pear nectar. I’m just in heaven. I’m just not sure I can extoll all the virtues of this place sufficiently (nor am I sure I want to, as it may one day lose its charm with more visitors!).
FYI - What I am doing is keeping a journal in a document and then cutting and pasting it when I get internet access. It may not be till bocas that I have a chance to properly update my blog. The carib side of costa rica and panama is notorious for bad internet. I hope our casita in bocas is better! Anyhoo – this is why you may see bursts of activity thru-out my adventure.
Tags: caribbean, casa viva, central america, costa rica, puerto viejo, punta uva
July 17th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
We had a much different experience at Casa Viva. Before we arrived our friends who were staying near by had went to check out the place before we arrived they were later accosted by the owner for walking on the property even though they had waited and called at the reception area. Then when we arrived the owner simply left town leaving one of the notoriously rude attendants from Atec to tend to her guests needs. The teflon frying pan was so badly scored that strips of teflon were hanging off it and when we asked for a different one the Atec attendant simply said we would have to wait till Thursday. Granted the beach and grounds are top notch but service? The cleaning service simply did not happen the first day or the second day. The owner said it was because of our kids clothes we did tell we had kids two young boys … wow… anyhow we left that day and went to Villas Del Caribe instead. I hope that old bitter woman rots in bungalow. Casa Viva sux I would not recommend it to anyone.