Rainforest We got up about 9 today as I had a date with Kim on skype at half past and didnt want to miss it! It was thankfully a bit cooler today as the clouds blocked the sun out, it was still quite muggy though. After having a lovely catch up with Kim for about an hour we hired a bike each and set off on the days adventure! We had decided that the prices for tours through the rainforest were extortionate so had looked on the internet and found that the Gand...

La Isla Botanical Gardens After talking to a local guy last night we found out that the gardens we looked for the other day are in fact still open, just the directions we'd found weren't very accurate! So today as it looked like it was going to be scorching, we decided to try again with the thought that at least we'd be in the shade when we found them! When we got there (after following the signs we'd missed before) we were greeted by a tall, slim, white guy ...

Beaches We set off about 10:30 with the intention of visiting the botanical gardens, however with addresses being what they are in Costa Rica we managed to walk through town and out the other side without finding the road we wanted!! After exploring a couple of side roads we thought it must have closed down and decided to walk back to the hostel along the beach. Interestingly the beach on the north side of Puerto Viejo is made of black sand while the one on t...

Puerto Viejo We got out of our hammocks at about 12 and after a quick shower walked the mile into town. The first order of business was to find a bank as our money was running out, after that we did some shopping at a shop in the centre if town before heading back. The town itself is somewhat ramshackle but very colourful with buildings made of brick and corrugated metal sheets. Several of the bar/restaurants in fact have no walls!! The rest of our day was ex...

Travelling and Rockin' J's We got up early(-ish) today as we had a couple of things to do. We headed out the hostel with our backpacks which as Mae has repeatedly informed me are very heavy!! The bus into town cost 210 colones each, and took about 15mins. We only walked a short way before finding a taxi and asked them to take us to the Cuban embassy. Of course in Costa Rica there is no such thing as an actual address, the best you can get is a set of directio...