Costa Rica - Part 1

In October 2014, the Looney Lougees took a 10-day trip to Costa Rica for our 10th Anniversary. We have an overload of pictures this trip, so we will be breaking this into bite-sized sections.  Hope you enjoy!

In part one, we will explore the Caribbean Coast, south of Limon, near the small town of Puerto Viejo.

 

 This is the car we rented for our adventure! We took this little mini-SUV all over the country, logging over 1000 miles over the 10 days. It was good to us, especially on all those dirt roads, but it did not have much get up and go. Passing cars on the highway was always exciting.

It took us 7 hours to get from the airport to our first rental property. We may or may not have gotten lost in the capital city of San Jose for the 2 hours before we finally found the highway...

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  Going over the mountain into the clouds!!! 
  
  
  The road to our first house was gorgeous, windy, and treacherous. This picture attempts to show us driving up through the mountain and into a large cloud but it really doesn't do it justice.
  
  
  Yemanya Cabins
  
  
    
  Arriving at our cabin
  
  
  OK, this is a little deceptive. We actually arrived at night, but this is STILL the entrance. 
    
   
   Our cabin on the beach!
  
  This was a cute little rustic cabin. We stayed here for 5 nights and loved it. We were surrounded by nature. Birds and howler monkeys woke us at 5:30 each morning.
   
    
  Porch/kitchen Area
   
  This crab was right outside of our cabin (along with a million others that surrounded us!)
  
  Bedroom
  
  You see the mosquito net and immediately think, "ick...bugs". However, that couldn't be further from the truth. We did not see a single solitary mosquito the whole time we were at this cabin. We were, however, glad for the peace of mind.
  
  
   

  Just relaxin in the hammock!

   

   

  
  

  
  

  We left some fruit out in the open kitchen to try and attract butterflies or perhaps a toucan. We got fruit bats instead! They stayed with us the whole time. We named them D'mitri and Hector.

  
  

    

  
  

   

  
  Our Own Private Beach
  
  There were lovely sights everywhere we turned. Our little cabin had a little jungle path that led right to the beach.
  
  
  Beautiful flowers we saw on the way to the beach
  
  
  
  
  Walking to our private beach!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Breathtaking views!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Exploring the beach
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Big spider!
  
  These guys were everywhere. Very creepy looking, but they tended to stay our of high traffic areas. We later learned that while they ARE venomous, they cannot kill a human. It would feel more like a bee sting.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A sea of beautiful flowers (tropical petunias??)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Another Tropical Flower
  
  
  
  
  
  
   It's kind of hard to see, but it's thousands of daddy long legs!!
  
  
  
   Taking a swim in the Caribbean!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Wildlife Santuary!
  
  
  

   Toucan!
  
  
   The first time we visited I had fruit in my hand and the Toucan came so close to me! It was a little frightening, but cool at the same time!
   
  

  

   Sloths!!!
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  Anteater!
  
  

  

   Frog!
  
  

  

   Soon to be frogs!
  
  

  

   Wicked looking spider!
  
  

  

   Owls!
  
  

  

  
  

  

   Crocodile Tree!
  
  

  

  
  

  

  Baby Monkey's! We got to go inside the enclosure and they crawled all over us!
  It was awesome!
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

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  Puerto Viejo
   
   Puerto Viejo is an odd little town. It is small and cute, but mostly dead during the day. However, at night all the bars and clubs are hopping and the college kids come out of the woodwork to get plastered and make sure they remember as little as possible about this tropical paradise.
   
   
    Going into town (Puerto Viejo)
   
   We found a Panderia! (Bakery)
   
  This was one of our favorite places to go for breakfast while we were in the area. They had delightful little Dulce de Leche pastries (basically caramel made from goat's milk).
   
   
  Enjoying a delicious smoothie on the beach
  
  
    
  
  
  After our smoothies we wandered over to another part of the beach to watch the sun go down.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  Stay tune to part 2! :)