Puero Viejo - The Caribbean Coast, Costa Rica

Our trip started once we were dropped off at the Caribbean Bus terminal in San Jose by Lee... No more seat's, so standing it will be...5hrs to Puerto Viejo! Just as we pulled out of the station the rain started, just as Lee had predicted! Little did we know what was ahead. traffic started to pile up, and we almost came to a stand still, the traffic was built up ahead of us for as far as we could see, but our driver decided to drive on in the oncoming lane, we all were very surprised, the bus having to almost drive in the gutter to avoid hitting cars and motorbikes...He was taking us to the nearest road side restaurant. He has decided to take us here to wait, it was the very basic typical roadside, best way to descibe it would be a tin roof with a kitchen, some tables and chairs and a couch ....I doubt that they haveAn hour and a half went by, swirving down the mountains, amongst lush rainforest...and then ever had a bus load pull up there before....at least we had loo's and food to eat, couches to sit on, and for some a TV to watch... As it turned out there was a protest on the bridge ahead, they had stopped traffic. The poeple protesting were not happy because the goverment had given money to build a new bridge, but in typical cental american style the money had disappeard...So they stopped the road, and were letting 5 minuets of cars go by every hour. This is the only road from Peuto Limon(maybe the biggest port in Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast) to San Jose so you can imagine the traffic that it carries.....Niether of us had ever see a traffic jam like it. The traffic was banked up for many many kilometres. We waited for more than an hour...yet some traveleres were getting impacient. So we all hopped back on the bus, and put ourself in line...Moving a tiny bit for not even 5 min every hour. Another hour and a half must of gone by...and finally the bridge was opened and we were free to move...There was a great ambience in the bus, all chatting and laughing! We fianlly made it to Puerto Viejo, 8 hours later! Puerto Viejo, a quite town on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica...Maybe in the past it could of been a fishing village... There is a mixture of poeple, yet the Green Yellow and Red, Rasta Coulours prime. Reagge music in the air. A laid back feeling that has been taken over by tourism. We went to stay at "Rocking Jay's", a kind of comunity style living, mosaics and painting left right and center, created by passing traverlers. A big comunial kitchen with 10 gas burners, toilets and showers for all! Lockers to keep our belongings, and all together in a great big space...Camping, Hammock Hotel, Cabina's and even a Tree House for the Adventurous...That is no longer in a tree but on top of the roof...

We rented a tent, and settled for 4 days...I found my place on the beach while Stephen went surfing at Salsa Brava a couple of times. Our days went by smoothly, breakfast in the communal kitchen, a walk to have a look at the surf, into town to get our food for the day, lunch, and the afternoons swinging, lazing, napping in hammocks...Dinner, around the troop starting their night of parting...Cause Pueto Viejo is supposed to be Party Central... Then a storm hit us, boy there was no more room in the sky for any more rain...It was pouring...Good thing that the Tent hotel was under a roof, but a tin roof sure makes a lot of noise! The rain did not stop for the whole night...I could not belive the amount of water there was...And surprised to not see any water collection being done??? It is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but here poeple call it winter, its the raining season, thus the coldest time of the year. And on the 5th day we took our bus out of town...Next stop Panama.

I am now 15 weeks pregnant, and showing a small belly...All is good!

Reunited in San Jose

After 5 weeks apart on other sides of the world the 3 of us have finally reunited in San Jose, Costa Rica. Sarah who is now 14 weeks pregnant and myself, together again as one. The longest we have been apart before this was in early Sept/08 last year when I arrived back in Oz after my world travels, where we met and fell in love.I awaited sarahs arrival to my homeland for 5 days, which is a far cry from the 5 weeks that we have just endured, but this is now the start of a new adventure.....an adventure that I could barely of dreamed of let alone contempated as a reality. Our very first adventure together as a couple began in this part of the world back on the 4th of Feb/08 and now I am going to get a taste of a life that Sarah once lived...a life on the sea.

We are going to sail from Panama to Tahiti via The Galapagos Islands and The Marquise Islands, and depending on either how hard the wind blows or how well I keep the contents of my stomach...in my stomach...we may venture on to the Cook Islands and then, maybe even Samoa. Are you jealous yet?.......

So anyway, here we are in San Jose where we are staying with my cousin Lee and his Costa Rican partner Tanya and their very very adorable/cute/happy 6month old boy Keyo.It has been an absute blessing to be able to fall into the comfort of their home while we recover from the effects of the long flights we have both taken to get here. Long flights, multiple connections and stopovers can really take there toll. Lee and Tanya have been sensational hosts allowing us to rest and relax in there home, providing us with a base while we get an assortment of jobs in town done, and yesterday they took us to nice restaurant on the edge of a nearby national park on the outskirts of San Jose. The food was great but to top it all off we were treated to the unexpected visit of a Sloth, not something that would normally be welcome at dinner bit this was of the 2 toed variety that lives in the trees, and going by the reaction of the restaurant staff who all excitedly ran for there cameras it was not a regular customer. We quickly discovered that there was no need for pace as the sloth as its name suggests was in no hurry....iittt wwaaassss vveeerrrryyy vveeerrryyy ssslllooowwwwww.

If you look closely in both of these pictures with the
trees in the background, you can see the Sloth amongst the leaves

We are now ready to roll....next stop is the party capital of Cost Rica, Peurto Viejo

Steve.O