This is a new series I would like to call "When In Costa Rica" which will show all the towns and cities that I highly recommend visiting while Costa Rica if you ever choose to visit Costa Rica.
One town that I highly recommend to visit is Puerto Viejo. Puerto Viejo is a town located on the west side of Costa Rica and is on the coast of Caribbean Sea/Atlantic Ocean. It is an incredibly popular tourist destination because of it's laid back and easy living atmosphere. It has major influence from Jamaica and the neighboring Caribbean islands so there is a lot of people that are so rich with culture.
I stayed in a hostel called Selina with my friends from my group for one night. It cost around $16 a night and was that worth it. I roomed with 12 of my friends and there were bunk beds and I obviously had to have the top bunk. The hostel was so colorful and so nicely decorated and it felt so fun. The "backyard" of the hostel was the ocean and the beach. They had swings tied to the palm trees and it felt like I was on some sort of island.
It was a 25-30 minute walk from our hostel to the town and don't be discouraged because it's such a nice walk, but some of my friends decided to rent bikes that our hostel offered and just rode the bikes to town. The town itself was so cute and very island-like. The people were so nice and so laid-back and it was so refreshing to see people so happy and care-free. There will be some people trying to sell weed, but if you politely decline they’ll just leave you alone. The little shops that you can buy handcrafted items and just touristy things are really cute and you can haggle with them as well.
I had no words for the Caribbean Sea/ Atlantic Ocean. The water was crystal clear and it wasn’t too hot nor was it too cold. It was simply the perfect temperature to combat the humidity that Puerto Viejo had at the time.
The restaurants that they had were very traditional Costa Rica food so rice and beans and meat etc. or they had a lot of bar food so chicken and fries and burgers. They are all reasonably priced and you have such a great view of the ocean while eating your food and it's almost worth it. I do recommend this breakfast place that is only a 10-15 minute walk from the hostel that I was staying in. It only serves vegan and vegetarian food, but the French toast is out of this world. I felt so healthy while eating this and I felt so happy at this moment. I highly recommend the french toast because it comes with the fruit of the day and “dipping sauces” like honey, jam, maple syrup, and the fruit sauce. It was amazing.
The thing is that I felt so calm and free in Puerto Viejo. It was such a laid-back atmosphere that I’ve always liked and I really let myself go in this town. I inhaled the salt filled breeze and just let my worries go. Puerto Viejo is such a beautiful town filled with so many beautiful people and it's so worth it if you ever choose to go.
I hope you all enjoyed this post and there will be more posts coming soon!
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