Cahuita
After spending a good 3 hours on the Panama/Costa Rican border, we managed to cross over.
Our first destination was Cahuita, a small town on the Carribean Coast. Given that Levka has been to Costa Rica two times before, he debated for a while whether he has been to Cahuita. When our bus finally arrived into town, he didn't recognize the area so we assumed that he never made it there.
The first night, we walked around for a while looking for a place to stay. The hostels that we researched were full. We found another place that seemed decent. Only after we checked in, we found out that there was no hot water. Which is apparently common in Costa Rica. So the next morning we moved to another place.
Lonely Planet describes Cahuita as a backpackers paradise with tons of hostels, little restaurants, beautiful nature and warm water. We only partially agree with that assessment. It is in fact an overpriced village. And for the town being so out of the way and so underdeveloped, the prices seem outrageous. Or maybe the prices are such because it is so out of the way. By the time you get there, you have no choice but to spend the money.
However, there were a couple really cool things that we did.
On the first day we went on an 8km walk along the ocean in Cahuita National Park. Which is the perfect kind of hike, as far as I'm concerned. Along the way we did the following:
1. Saw two monkey families
2. Saw some other random creatures including this cute green guy:
3. Took a swim in the warmest ocean water that you can imagine
4. And Levka realized that he has been on this trail before when he recognized the parking on the other end!
(Unfortunately there is no picture for this momentous occasion)
On the second day we took a recommendation from our Israeli friends and went to a Sloth Sanctuary. It is only 10km out of town and was well worth the $25 tix.
They claim that a Sloth baby is the cutest thing ever and I may have to agree!
Judge for yourself...
We learned a ton of things about this strange animal and were really impressed and touched by its stuggle to survive as the deforestation continues at very high rates in Costa Rica. If you'd like to learn more about Sloths and the Sanctuary, check out these links:
http://www.costarica.com/places-to-see/parks,-reserves-and-protected-areas/-the-sloth-rescue-center/
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| 2012.01.15 Cahuita |
