Last time I was in Puerto Viejo was 8 years ago in 2010 while I was studying Spanish in the capital San José. And if there is one place I am most certain that I will go back to (e.g if I get a work from “home” kindof job) it would be Puerto Viejo.
My “hammock hostel”; “Rocking J’s”
The place is not too big or too busy, but it has everything you need for a good and comfortable life. It’s famous for being a surfer village, but it is also quite a “hippie” place with lots of vegan cafés, alternative people who have settled there and hostels offering camping, like my hostel “Rocking J’s” where I could sleep in my hammock.
Another great place close to Puerto Viejo is a national park called “Cahuita”, just twenty minutes from Puerto Viejo. It has a 8km walking trail, and if you enter it from the Puerto Viejo side you have to pay 10 dollars to get in, but if you start at the other side, from Cahuita Town it is free (just a small optional donation).
The sandy trails went through jungle like landscape, but always with a beach close by. We saw raccoons, capuchin monkeys and sloths in the tree, went swimming- and, when I climbed a palm tree to catch a coconut I managed to fall down and break my toe, which resulted in spending the rest of the day in the hospital at Hone Creek and Limón. Luckily I was in a place where I could relax in my hammock and wait for the toe to heal a bit before continuing my journey.