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Laid Back Land


Road Sign – Puerto Viejo

Originally uploaded by roupiesontour

November 9th – Puerto Viejo.

The rain has not stopped. It makes you feel claustrophobic as although you try and make the best of it, sometimes you cannot face getting drenched to the skin. We have come south in the vain hope of finding some sunshine.

A 7 hour minibus trip down showed a different side to the country. Houses under 3 or 4 feet of water, kids still playing football on a drenched footpall pitch, a man up to his waist in water carrying his bicycle on his shoulder, just some of the sights we saw on the way down. We shared the bus with an English couple who had come over for 2 weeks to get some sun. Boy were they annoyed! The weather is not at all normal for this time of year and apparently global warming is to blame. Some parts of the region have been put on red alert and I cannot help wondering what we have let ourselves in for. At one point the road was so flooded I didn’t think we would make it across, but we all crossed our fingers and as the water went higher than the wheels we crossed our legs too and just about made it across.

Puerto Viejo is on the Caribbean side and has been greatly influenced by the culture. What you have left is a surfing town that is so laid back it is almost horizontal. There seem to be quite a few Americans who came here in the 60’s/70’s and have just stayed. Bikes can be seen everywhere, surfboards being carried on them in the rain and a pig wanders down the high street eating. The Costa Rican people here are beautiful, a mix of Caribbean and Tico and European/American as I have seen many green eyes.

We have rented an apartment in the Hotel Agapi – right on the beach. I can hear the waves from my window and the forest is just the other side so the wildlife is also here. If it would just stop raining we might be able to go out and enjoy it! It’s very rugged here – think Treasure Island. The hotel is run by a Greek/Tica couple who have made us feel so welcome, it’s like a home away from home.



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