Puerto Viejo | Nothing Else Quite Like It

I went to Puerto Viejo two times during my stay in Costa Rica.  The first time with a school-planned trip in January to see a cocoa plantation:

Raw cocoa!

Puerto Viejo resident selling fresh coconuts on the street.

Our indigenous guide giving us a demonstration of how to open and use some exotic red fruit.

And the second time was in March with a group of students just for fun. 

Some of our Tico friends showed us some of the best viewpoints up in the hills in Puerto Viejo.

You can rent a bike for $5 a day in Puerto Viejo.  A great way to see the entire town in a day, while making pit-stops at various beaches!

Puerto Viejo is located in the province of Limon on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.  What makes Puerto Viejo unique from any other place in Costa Rica is the rich culture that can be seen on any street corner.  Rastafarian's playing music or hanging out, Afro-Caribbean woman cooking patty's or jerk chicken-on-a-stick, vendors selling anything from Bob Marley bracelets to wooden-carved pipes, to even town folk simply taking a stroll down the street. 

From what I've been told, the dominant remains of this Afro-Caribbean culture come from the lack of government aid in this region.  And while some see this as bad ... many see it as good.  But regardless of either opinion, it's this strong sense of culture that definitely sets Puerto Viejo apart from any other place in Costa Rica – and what makes every visit something special.

The beauty of Puerto Viejo :)