Hola!

We are back in San Jose after a week exploring the Carribean side of Costa Rica...and what an experience! It was vastly different from anywhere we have been during our time here. The Carribean culture is very very strong on the eastern side, and it felt like being in a completely different country! Very fun though!

I firstly have to add that I had a little accident before leaving Manuel Antonio and whilst gorping at a snake in a tree tripped over a log and ripped off the big toe nail, (der!) it was not very nice! But (I am sure most of you will be quite surpised at this!) I did not cry like a baby, instead I was very calm! ...that was until after the initial shock had worn off and we made it back to the hostel when I was then histerical! So I now have no toe nail on the big toe of my right foot! (I cringe each time I look at it and refused to take the bandage off for the first few days!)

So...We began the week by taking the bus from San Jose to Cuhuita, a small town about 5 hours east. We cheated a little and took a tourist shuttle (better known as the Gringo bus!) which we are quite ashamed off but we thought we would dig out some money and treat ourselves to a bit of luxury rather than yet another bus ride where you are left feeling like you have been squashed into a tin can! Once we arrived in Cuhuita we met an American woman called ´Jen´who had a nice hostel by the entrance of the National Park. The room was really nice and she helped us plan our itinery for the next couple of days. Jen has been living in Cuhuita for ten years after travelling with her friend, discovering Cuhuita and never leaving! (instead setting up a hostel! ...Niceee!)

We spent the afternoon on the beach and then explored the town...all three streets of it! Cuhuita is the smallest town we have visisted and was not at all like being in Costa Rica. The town was mainly inhabited by people who had moved over from the Carribean islands and each person spoke perfect English (which was strange after 5 weeks of adjusting to spanish!) The Carribean cost is a poorer area of Costa Rica and this was something we definetly noticed. We found we were approached a lot by people asking for money or trying to sell us things and as there were not many tourists in Cuhuita we were approached quite a lot! That evening we went out for a traditional Carribean dinner and it was delicious!! Carribean Chicken and rice! yum yum! Everything on the menu was cooked in coconut milk and we munched away to reggae tunes!

Our second day in Cuhuita we spent the day in the National Park, an 8K hike through thick jungle and to beautiful secluded beaches. We saw the usual monkeys, sloths, snakes and exotic birds (after 5 weeks it is becoming very normal to see monkeys swinging from tree to tree!) During the walk we bumped into two american girls who had made the mistake of feeding one of them and when we arrived were surrounded by hungry monkeys and their babies! It was perfect to see, but probably a bad move on their part! We also met an Israeli guy during our day at the park who was travelling alone from Mexico to Panama. After chatting to him we all went out for dinner and had yet another yummy carribean meal.

Cuhuita was definetly an ´'experience´' as well as a culture shock, but we had a great two days there...one thing I couldnt get used to was going to sleep to the sound of Howler monkeys... they sound more like they were growling than howling and it felt more like sleeping at the edge of Jurasic park rather than the rain forest!

The next few days we moved on to a bigger town called Puerto Viejo, also with our Israeli friend Ádayu. Puerto Veijo was not only bigger but also a lot more touristy and although it was still a sleepy rasta town by the sea it wasn´t as nice as some of the beach towns we have visted on the Pacific side. I didn´t feel like I was in Costa Rica at all, which was fun to experience but definetly a change! There also wasn´t as much to do in Puerto Veijo so we have spent the last few days just lazing on the beach (oh dear!) and watching the surfers that flock to Puerto Veijo for the famous ´Salsa Brava´which is a break in the sea where there is some great surf. We also spent the last few days with Adayu and last night went out for dinner at a place with a live reggae band, it was awesome!

So...we are now in San Jose and we have one day left until our fight to Miami (via Texas) Tomorrow we plan to head back to Palmares and visit Marita and Edgar (our homestay family) aswell as pick up some coffee from the local coffee plantation and spend our last day in our old ´home for a month´Palmares.

I reeeally really don´t want to leave Costa Rica...