The town of Manzanillo, located about a 15-minute bus ride from Puerto Viejo, houses a wildlife refuge that is home to about a zillion species of plants and animals. We set out early for a guided tour of the park – the first of many opportunities on the trip to learn about nature.
Breakfast was served at typical Tico-speed (i.e. very slowly), but it was delicious, with fruit smoothies and of course excellent coffee. We met our tour guide, Ricky, and set out into the park.
The tour was fantastic and, as it turns out, was unparalleled the entire remainder of the trip. Ricky knew seemingly everything about every tree, every flower, and every animal in the park. We saw a yellow eyelash viper snake (very poisonous), monkeys in trees, a spider that spins a golden web, a poison dartfrog, bullet ants, and even a termite’s nest that introduced some members of our group to a brand-new source of protein. Yuck.
Ricky also was heavily into educating us on the medicinal properties of the jungle flora and fauna. He told us about the noni fruit, which smells like stinky cheese but supposedly offers a cure for anything from migraines to cancer. He even showed us how to make a sling from a banana tree. Way cool.
After several hours of nature, we were enthralled. But we were also hot, sticky, and longing for a swim in the ocean. The beach at Manzanillo was beautiful and the water beckoned to us, so we headed to the beach.
That afternoon, we went swimming, and then rented sea kayaks and went kayaking for a while, which was incredible. We sort of forgot to memorize a landmark on the shore, though, and finding where to return the boats and get our stuff back was an adventure on its own. By late afternoon, we had sand in our clothes, in our hair… it was wonderful!
We returned to Puerto Viejo by bus and headed out a bit of shopping. We attempted to find an internet café, but the connection speeds were slow and there were long lineups pretty much everywhere. Ah well, I didn’t come to Costa Rica to spend time online.
Dinner was great, at a thai/sushi restaurant. We met Jordan, our waiter and a partner in the restaurant, who was also owned the luxury bungalows behind the place that were equipped with canopy beds, Jacuzzis, and the like.
Monday night is reggae night in Puerto Viejo, and we headed over to the beach bar after dinner to have a couple of drinks and dance to the Caribbean beat, before succumbing to exhaustion and heading back to the hotel to sleep.
Next: Boat trip to Tortuguero.