http://puravidadvd.com/features Your Source for Puerto Viejo Social News and Costa Rica Networking Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:29:34 -0400 en http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-cahuita-3/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-cahuita-3/ Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:29:34 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-cahuita-3/
7 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/where-to-go-in-costa-rica/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/where-to-go-in-costa-rica/ Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:06:22 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/where-to-go-in-costa-rica/
12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/video-today-we-ask-why-stop-in-cahuita-when-we-can-continue-to-puerto-viejo/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/video-today-we-ask-why-stop-in-cahuita-when-we-can-continue-to-puerto-viejo/ Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:46:42 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/video-today-we-ask-why-stop-in-cahuita-when-we-can-continue-to-puerto-viejo/
14 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/the-best-snorkeling-in-cr/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/the-best-snorkeling-in-cr/ Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:45:31 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/the-best-snorkeling-in-cr/
7 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/willie-tours-in-cahuita/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/willie-tours-in-cahuita/ Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:19:33 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/willie-tours-in-cahuita/
The rafting trip is up on the Pacuare River about 1-1.5 hours outside of Cahuita. It's $100 per person, so we want to make sure it's safe & worth the money.

The canopy trip is at Rio Banano on the Caribbean Coast. We have read reviews that the best canopy tour is up in Monteverde, so we want to make sure this is good/enjoyable/comparable location.

Thanks in advance for your help/advice!As far as I know and to answer your question...Willie is a transportation company...they do not...

11 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/really-laid-back-mon-in-cahuita/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/really-laid-back-mon-in-cahuita/ Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:19:33 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/really-laid-back-mon-in-cahuita/
Then we come across a horrendous truck crash with another monster tailback, again we manage to squeeze through.

Puerto Limon looked a typical working port, a little onthe seedy side.

We skirt the Caribbean coast heading for Cahuita a sleepy beach village. The people here are of Afro Caribbean origin, it's quite strange you get Rasta Spanish, a hey mon and then they launch into Spanish, though English is used as well.

14 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/swinging-in-the-rain-cahuita-province-of-limon-costa-rica/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/swinging-in-the-rain-cahuita-province-of-limon-costa-rica/ Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:26:30 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/swinging-in-the-rain-cahuita-province-of-limon-costa-rica/
I was hoping for another Montezuma, a chilled out happy town that I could feel safe in even when walking alone after sun down. Cahuita had the same easy laid back attitude but with an air of menace lying just below the surface. Too much rum & Imperial written into the faces of men taking their post dinner positions under the bus stop. The local dealer like a drowsy wasp in the height of the British summer (ahh the irony, summer and Britain in the same analogy!), ready to plant his sting on a low life backpacker.
However the above could well be blamed on the backpacking traveller hoping to obtain cheap drugs and Cahuita's reputation as a "free love" town, visiting females determined to make a bee line for the local males. Unfortunately as with most thi...

11 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-travel-guide-spotlight-on-costa-ricas-southern-coast/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-travel-guide-spotlight-on-costa-ricas-southern-coast/ Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:08:17 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-travel-guide-spotlight-on-costa-ricas-southern-coast/

Sea bird near Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica. Photograph: Matthew Barker 2008
Talking with Mrs. Rose, the elderly owner of a small guesthouse in the sleepy coastal town of Cahuita, the Costa Rica of her childhood sounded a universe apart from the country I was traveling through.

8 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-costa-rica-yoga-vacations-fun-in-the-sun/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-costa-rica-yoga-vacations-fun-in-the-sun/ Sat, 18 Jul 2009 05:17:59 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-costa-rica-yoga-vacations-fun-in-the-sun/
Costa Rica is not just for surfing, sunbathing and exploring the jungles. The possibilities are really endless. A Costa Rica Yoga vacation gives you the opportunity to refine your yoga skills and techniques and also lets you meet other yoga enthusiasts like yourself. Maybe you are just curious about yoga and always wanted to try it then this is one way to do it. You can sign up for one of the Costa Rica Yoga Vacations that are not as intensive and give you more free time to explore the wonders of Costa Rica. Once you get hooked, and you know you will be, you can return again for another yoga vacation next year.

Imagine yourself practicing your yoga techniques on your Costa Rica Yoga Vacation while watching a glorious Costa Rican Sunset. You will be both amazed and enchanted. Your certified Yoga Instructor will guide you through different routines and can offer you one on one training too. The peace and tranquility of Costa Rica is your landscape as you relax, unwind and meditate.

Depending upon your skill level you can choose what type of Costa Rica yoga instruction you take. They have beginner yoga vacations as well as experienced yoga vacations. Some of the Costa Rica Yoga vacations even include side trips. Take a wild horse back ride on Cahuita Black Beach or hike through a sun drenched waterfall.

18 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/welcome-to-icari-spanish-school/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/welcome-to-icari-spanish-school/ Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:33:39 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/welcome-to-icari-spanish-school/
The Spanish School is located in Cahuita, Talamanca. Cahuita is a tranquil place, just 3 1/2 hours from San Jose by road, 36 Km South of Puerto Limón and 15 Km North of Puerto Viejo.

6 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/beach-reviews-puerto-viejo/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/beach-reviews-puerto-viejo/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:33:47 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/beach-reviews-puerto-viejo/
Please don't let these two reviews stop your investigation of the Puerto viejo area. We fell in love with the area last Jan and are going back in October. You may have to look a bit to find the perfect beach for your group, but there's a good selection and (except for scuba diving which is probably gonna suck in Jan/Feb...it did when we were there in Jan) there's a ton of beach and nature stuff to see and do. If you wanna pm me, I can let you know where we stayed, what beaches we've been to before and how PV area compared....

15 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/touring-costa-rica/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/touring-costa-rica/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:33:47 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/touring-costa-rica/
19 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-coffee-rica/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-coffee-rica/ Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:43:25 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-coffee-rica/
12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/caribbean-coast-cahuita-or-manuel-antonio-in-august/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/caribbean-coast-cahuita-or-manuel-antonio-in-august/ Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:43:25 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/caribbean-coast-cahuita-or-manuel-antonio-in-august/ My little ones love Manuel Antonio...but also love the low profile of the beaches around Puerto Viejo, Punta Uva, Cocles, Manzanillo...Peace Lodge is partially open...Simple answer I will rather go to Caribbean side...Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in PARADISE!

You know, I just went with my son to Cahuita a little while ago. He's 5 and we found a bunch of things to do that he loved. They have the sloth center, a huge hit for kids. Amazing beaches, and since it's their drier season, you might have a lot less rain and more fun time at the beach....

18 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/la-paz-waterfall-gardens-sloth-sanctuary/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/la-paz-waterfall-gardens-sloth-sanctuary/ Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:47:56 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/la-paz-waterfall-gardens-sloth-sanctuary/
Go to search box top right on the first page and type sloth refuge. Also the category is: national parks and wildlife refuges, and you can also find it that way. You will find a very informative article all about it. Have not yet visited the waterfall gardens since the earthquake, however i understand it is now open with only a couple water falls, so road must be pretty good....

11 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-travelog/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-travelog/ Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:47:56 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-travelog/
18 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/transitions/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/transitions/ Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:47:56 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/transitions/
10 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-6/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-6/ Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:14:37 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-6/
Whilst shuffling downtown on my final day someone taps me on the shoulder and says "Andrew". After about a second of unrecognition I finally realise it was an ex-school colleague who I hadn't seen in night on 22 years. Small world....

12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/budget-accommodation-cahuita/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/budget-accommodation-cahuita/ Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:27:53 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/budget-accommodation-cahuita/
16 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/pura-vida-with-a-price-tag-cahuita-costa-rica/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/pura-vida-with-a-price-tag-cahuita-costa-rica/ Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:21:45 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/pura-vida-with-a-price-tag-cahuita-costa-rica/
Also Cahuita is FULL of faltpackers© (Faux alternative backpackers... you know the type... want to go to somewhere different but then once they're there, are internally terrified that that perhaps one of the local rasta's will rape them or some such nonsense, so they walk around not talking to ANYONE and just glaring at you and blowing smoke in your face), and the town is a bit seedy so we'll leave tomorrow for Puerto Viejo, maybe we'll win that gamble. Such is travel I suppose...

13 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cr-caribbean-coast-meets-jungle-love/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cr-caribbean-coast-meets-jungle-love/ Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:37:06 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cr-caribbean-coast-meets-jungle-love/
The country is waiting in anticipation of a big earthquake on the Pacific side and last night the Caribbean coast of Honduras suffered a significant earthquake. One never knows what one will be dealing with here in the tropics - it isn't all pretty.

11 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rican-monkey-hunt/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rican-monkey-hunt/ Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:37:06 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rican-monkey-hunt/
12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/from-cahuita-to-panama/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/from-cahuita-to-panama/ Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:51:46 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/from-cahuita-to-panama/
We were a little surprised to find that Wizard beach (the nearest beach) was nearly an hour's treck through muddy jungle and were very ready for a swim by the time we got there. It was spectacularly beautiful however, surrounded by jungle with white sands and deep blue water broken up by the white crested colossal waves. We spent a while playing around in the surf, took a stroll down the beach and found ourselves a boat home to avoid a treck back through the jungle in the ...

12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-cahuita/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-cahuita/ Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:51:46 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/costa-rica-cahuita/
Luckily we only had to wait two hours for the next bus to the Caribbean coastal town of Cahuita and passed the time easily eating the sandwiches we had made in San Juan del Sur and playing numerous games Gin Rummy. The bus journey itself went smoothly. When we arrived however, everything seemed to be closed. Eventually (after several hours of touring the town with an ageing Rasta, seeing a giant coral snake up close and being offered copious amounts of weed) James found us a great hostel, ‘The Secret Garden'. It was complete luxury compared to what we had been used to. A large immaculate family room with marble floors, comfortable beds, French doors leading out to the garden, en suite shower and toilet and large fluffy towels. We were even accompanied by a large crab although James Surfin' efficiently ushered it out while I stood on the bed pretending to be of use. ...

20 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/shared-ride-to-puerto-viejo/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/shared-ride-to-puerto-viejo/ Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:17:52 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/shared-ride-to-puerto-viejo/
11 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/where-are-the-most-caribbean-like-beaches/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/where-are-the-most-caribbean-like-beaches/ Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:17:52 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/where-are-the-most-caribbean-like-beaches/
I've heard CR is just fabulous, but maybe not the beaches? If any of you CR afficianados can point us in the right direction to these idyllic-type beaches, let me know. Otherwise, maybe we'll do a quick tour just to see it and head to Panama or Roatan, since our real goal here is to find a place to relocate that is our kind of paradise.

Lightest sand beach on Pacific is Playa Conchal and Isla Tortuga, with Playa Garza/Nosora area pretty light tan, but none of them white, and all the water is more green. On the Caribe side, Playa Cahuita at the refuge, and also Playa Manzanillo at the Gonduca refuge, both you have to trek or kayak to.

14 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/safety-and-wireless-internet-access-in-puerto-viejo/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/safety-and-wireless-internet-access-in-puerto-viejo/ Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:17:52 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/safety-and-wireless-internet-access-in-puerto-viejo/
There are internet cafes but the service is slowwwwwwww. This is a party place and can be a tad nuts and a young euro backpacker, and Pt Viejo is a rather dodgy place at night and a heavy element of drug users are commiting random acts of violence and robbery against male tourist....no reports lately, but just so you have been warned, get the lowdown on rules of safety once there, and head the advice. Desolate beaches and roads are a risk on that coast.

just spoke with a buddy of mine who was in PV this past March and was robbed at knifepoint early in the morning on the road outside the hostel. He didn't have his wallet with him and just lost some loose bills, but the knife is a scary thing

12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/the-hidden-lives-of-sloths-symbiosis-in-slow-motion/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/the-hidden-lives-of-sloths-symbiosis-in-slow-motion/ Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:17:52 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/the-hidden-lives-of-sloths-symbiosis-in-slow-motion/
Sloths' slow, graceful movements have been compared to those of a t'ai chi master. I agree with that assessment-and coincidentally it was for a t'ai chi retreat that I went to Costa Rica in the first place. But sloths have also been called "ugly," and here I must disagree. Up close, sloths are actually quite cute, and the shape of their faces gives the impression of a permanent smile. In the wild, of course, the menagerie of plants and critters growing in the fur can be off-putting, but a well-groomed sloth is-and I'm speaking from experience here-downright cuddly.

12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/great-opportunity-in-cahuita/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/great-opportunity-in-cahuita/ Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:17:52 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/great-opportunity-in-cahuita/
12 Vote(s) ]]> http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-wiki/ http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-wiki/ Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:17:52 -0400 Keyon Puerto Viejo Costa Rica http://puravidadvd.com/features/category/Puerto-Viejo-Costa-Rica/cahuita-wiki/
Taxis from Puerto Limon cost in the region of $15 and from San Jose costing about $150.
Interbus runs services between Cahuita and San Jose for around $35pp taking ~3-4hours.

7 Vote(s) ]]>