The Cahuita National Park, Muay Thai training on the beach, and saying goodbye to Puerto Viejo.

प्रकाशित: 04.01.2023

Hello friends and family 🙂

I wish you all a healthy and happy new year. In Spanish: Feliz año nuevo.

My year started with a cold. Again. But I don't want to complain... pura vida 😅

This time I want to tell you about my visit to Cahuita National Park. Or rather, my visits. Because I went there not only for Christmas with Jana, but also multiple times afterwards. But let's start from the beginning. After moving from the hostel to another accommodation with a single room, I continued my journey to Cahuita on the 28th of December, about 30 minutes by bus from Puerto Viejo. The main reason for moving to Cahuita was that Josefina told me during my stay with her that I should book accommodation for the days around New Year as soon as possible, as everything would be fully booked. Christmas, New Year, and Easter are crowded everywhere and there are hardly any available rooms. In addition, the prices are multiplied. So I spontaneously booked accommodation in Cahuita, as I wanted to go there anyway and thought it would be quieter there on New Year's Eve than in Puerto Viejo. In hindsight, that was completely pointless. Because I didn't like Cahuita at all, the accommodation there was terrible, I continued my Muay Thai training in Puerto Viejo, Jana and Josefina were also there, and in the end, I spent New Year's Eve in Puerto Viejo 🤦‍♀️😅 But more on that later.

First, I want to take you to Cahuita National Park.

The park is located on the edge of the town and is as small as the town itself. Nevertheless, you can easily spend a day there and see many animals. Jana and I decided to visit the park on the 24th of December. As it turned out, choosing that day was a very good decision, because after that, especially over New Year, the park and its beaches became overcrowded. We took the bus from Puerto Viejo to Cahuita early in the morning to be there as early as possible. You can hire a guide at the entrance, but we decided not to, partly for cost reasons, and partly because I have a very good eye for finding animals. The national park itself is free, but a donation is requested at the entrance. At first, it was quite crowded, but after a while, the crowd dispersed and by the time it became rough, we were almost alone. At one point, we met a Swiss couple again, whom we had seen before at the Jaguar Rescue Center. They were very nice, so we continued our journey together. The two of them had the brilliant idea of finding and opening a coconut. They had bought a knife specifically for this purpose. After unsuccessfully trying to shoot a coconut from the tree (using old coconuts or beach junk as tools), I found a non-rotten one on the ground. After half an hour of wild hacking on the coconut with the completely unsuitable kitchen knife, we finally had a small hole in the actual nut and access to the coconut water. Coincidentally, a few days earlier, I had taken one of those completely unnecessary straws from a restaurant. A totally crazy coincidence because without any tube, we wouldn't have been able to drink the coconut water. So we sat on the beach, drank fresh coconut water, and enjoyed the atmosphere.

The top left shows Cahuita and to the southeast is Puerto Viejo. It took us over 6 hours to travel the approximately 8 kilometers from the park entrance (right of Cahuita) to the exit in the middle. Of course, with small breaks, such as cracking coconuts.
About a kilometer after the entrance, you come across this pond. The sea is on the left and the wetland is on the right. As the tide rises, the sea and the pond sometimes merge, providing a home for several fish and possibly rays.
Dreamy beaches.
Here we were in the water. Since there was no other way, we had to walk through the sea. For some reason, we forgot to take off our shoes.
Under me, I discovered a boxfish, but unfortunately, I couldn't capture it on camera.

And of course, we were able to observe several other animals:

Quite close to the entrance, we discovered White-faced Capuchin monkeys. However, Capuchin monkeys are often also on the ground and sometimes not afraid of humans, so they can be seen up close. Unfortunately, not all people behave responsibly and approach the monkeys too closely or try to lure them. We observed such a situation where a family tried to attract the Capuchin monkey (the one in the picture) sitting on the branch by snapping their fingers and making primitive sounds. The monkeys are naturally curious because they hope for food. They probably also occasionally get something from the visitors. Well, sometimes humans are more primitive than animals are said to be.
This is a blue morpho butterfly. It is probably the most famous butterfly in Costa Rica and can be found almost everywhere.
But there are also others. The Golden Silk Orb-Weaver spider. The large one is the female and the small one is the male. The male serves only for reproduction. After that, it is likely to be eaten.
A Black Phoebe.
A Royal Tern.
Probably a North American raccoon. Because the crab-eating raccoons have much shorter fur.
At the pit stop for cracking coconuts. Luckily, I had a straw in my backpack 😅
By noon, it was really hot and we had to hurry to get out of the park because it closes at 4 pm.
But we had to take some photos.
A seagrapes salad. I just had to step in.

And even more animals. I took some of the pictures on my second or third visit to the national park.

A male Mantled Howler monkey. One of four monkey species in Costa Rica.
And a female with a baby.
Another group resting...
...and roaring.
Three-toed sloth with baby.
And another sloth hanging out. Sloths only live in trees and only climb down to defecate. However, this happens only every few weeks, as sloths have a low energy expenditure due to their nutrient-poor diet (leaves, twigs, buds, sometimes fruits) which slows down everything.
A Green Iguana.
An Eyelash Viper. The venom effect on humans seems to be limited to local effects.
I have never seen such a large ant trail in my life. It stretches for meters and is sometimes 10 centimeters wide.

And even more monkeys...

Mantled Howler monkeys again.

I took some of the pictures of the Mantled Howler monkeys in the hostel since it was very close to the park entrance. However, the hostel owners regularly hung a banana bunch, apparently to attract animals intentionally. I didn't like that at all because the animals find enough food in the national park and shouldn't get too used to humans. Such actions may cause the animals to lose their natural fear of humans and exhibit altered behavior, such as not searching for food themselves, but rather sitting at a table set for them. The actual purpose of going to a national park, which is to observe animals in their natural habitat and behavior, is completely alienated and potentially destroyed in the long run.

There were apparently also Capuchin monkeys in the dining area of the hostel (because that's where the bananas hung 🙄) and I myself saw raccoons and agoutis on the hostel grounds eating the bananas. Bananas are actually a poor food source for animals. In addition, a girl from the hostel told me that she had been bitten by a raccoon shortly before and an ambulance had to be called. The wound didn't look good and was still bleeding. This could probably have been avoided if the animals had more fear of humans.

I didn't particularly like the owner, a Frenchwoman, anyway. Somehow, it started when I wrote to her that I would arrive one day later, and she replied that I should contact her by evening, otherwise, the room would be completely canceled. But I only read that at night because I was on the way. Then I panicked, but couldn't reach her the next morning. Luckily, she eventually wrote to me that my bed was reserved. That would have been a disaster because there wasn't a single affordable bed available in Cahuita over New Year. Well, the room was terrible. Small, packed to the maximum with bunk beds made of metal, and there was only one shower and one toilet for 10 people. At least there were lockable lockers that my stuff just fit into. But I had nice company. Among others, an elderly man from Cottbus who had to leave because his Mexican visa had expired but probably can't get a residence permit and will likely spend his retirement illegally in Mexico. And a friendly Italian guy who lives in London and with whom I had a nice conversation and went out for dinner in the evening. There is not much else to say about Cahuita. The town is tiny, the selection of restaurants and activities is limited, and the beaches were overcrowded. However, the latter was due to the holidays. That's why, and because of my Muay Thai training, I was drawn back to Puerto Viejo again and again. And of course, because of Jana and Josefina.

The most terrible frozen yogurt ever. We discovered the shop during a bike tour, and after the meal in the restaurant next door was a disaster, we thought we would treat ourselves. Unfortunately, we had to secretly dispose of it after a few spoonfuls because it was barely edible. The reason I'm smiling is because of Jana.
Electricity boxes in Puerto Viejo. I noticed them on the way back from a hike with Jana, Josefina, and 2 other guests of Josefina in the nearby forest. We also saw a toucan, but it was too far away to photograph.
I was able to capture this beautiful moment during one of my explorations through Puerto Viejo.
The sunset at Playa Negra in Puerto Viejo.
A few minutes later.
My camera never ceases to surprise me.
A few days later in Cahuita.
But I also gave Cahuita a chance and explored the place a bit and discovered this.
Interesting animals can be found everywhere. I saved this grasshopper from the hostel cat shortly before.

And then it was already New Year's Eve. I feel like I've been here for ages, but it's only been 3 weeks. The original plan was to spend New Year's Eve in the quieter Cahuita. But plans are known to be thrown overboard. At least for me. On the one hand, I wanted to spend New Year's Eve with Jana, and on the other hand, I really wanted to go to training one last time before I continued my journey. But since the last bus to Cahuita already leaves at 7:20 pm and Josefina advised me against taking a taxi, she offered me to stay at her place. Coincidentally, one of her 2 rooms was available exactly that one night. So on New Year's Eve evening, I took the bus from Cahuita to Puerto Viejo again. There, Jana, Josefina, a friend of Josefina, and I had a nice dinner. Somehow, everyone seemed to know each other in the restaurant, it was very warm and familiar, and there was live music. After that, we went to some other friends of Josefina. We also met the Zumba instructor there, but he was already pretty drunk and didn't seem to notice much anymore. However, I felt a bit out of place there because we didn't really know anyone and we were actually just 'guests' at Josefina's place. Moreover, everyone was dressed up nicely, and especially Josefina looked amazing in her new dress. Apparently, it is a tradition here to dress nicely for New Year's Eve and also for women to wear yellow underwear. Jana and I were wearing our everyday clothes. But we wanted to go to bed early anyway because Jana had to fly back to Germany the next day, and I had caught a cold and wasn't feeling well at all. Plus, I had a date with my Muay Thai trainer on the beach at 10 am the next day. Unfortunately, not a real date, but an appointment for training. So we watched the fireworks and shortly afterwards went home.

There was a central fireworks display right on the beach. However, they started about 10 minutes earlier for some reason. I hope they cleaned up the trash the next day.

After a short but comfortable night in the room at Josefina's place, she served me coffee and a delicious breakfast. She is really so nice and took care of me and Jana so well. A bit like a mom, even though she is only 13 years older than me (50, for those who don't want to do the math). At 10 am, Francisco and I went to the beach for training. He had arranged a bicycle for me so that we could go to a beautiful beach area where it is quiet and good for training. Although I was quite exhausted due to the cold, I didn't want to miss out on training on the beach.

Jumping rope was quite difficult as I kept sinking into the sand and getting caught on the rope.

Unfortunately, you can't upload videos here because we filmed the last 2 rounds of 3 minutes each. They will be included in my status in parts. In any case, it was an incredibly amazing experience, and Francisco praised me at the end, saying that I was a very good student, very disciplined, and a quick learner. Well, he was quite cute ☺️ If I'm ever in Puerto Viejo again, I can contact him anytime.

I will miss Puerto Viejo. Especially the relaxed atmosphere of the town and the people I got to know there. After a few days in Cahuita, I already moved on. On the 2nd of January, I took the bus and then a 3-hour boat ride along a river to Tortuguero, at the very northern coast of the Caribbean in Costa Rica. But more on that next time.

I have no idea who will read this whole thing with the amount of text 😅 But thank you very much to those who do.

PURA VIDA ❤️

उत्तरम्‌ (2)

Conny
Liebe Tina, ich bin eine von denen, die den Text bis zu Ende gelesen hat. Ich wünsche Dir alles Gute zum Neuen Jahr und vor allem viel Gesundheit und Schreiblust, damit der Blog weiterwächst! Beste Grüße aus Taucha, Conny

Tina
Hallo liebe Conny. Ich freue mich sehr, dass ihr Interesse daran habt was ich mache und meinen Blog lest. Ich wünsche euch auch alles Gute im neuen Jahr, auch wenn es bereits fortgeschritten ist. Liebste Grüße aus Costa Rica