Bikes and the Beach
/Feb 13: 89 degrees
Good morning Puerto Viejo! This town has water and a beach area, but it's not the idyllic beach you see on tv (or in many Florida beach destinations, for example) because the ocean is good for surfing out beyond the rocks, or hanging in pool-like areas close to shore. Otherwise, there is rock and coral to get in the way of a good swim. And little pockets of sand/beach area among the old buildings and trees.
Kasia admiring the view during a little rest from our ride
We hear that Punta Uva, which is about 13 KM/8 miles away, has a great beach for swimming and hanging out. So we get up, rent bikes, and head that way to check it out. Without our swimsuits or anything to actually swim. I guess we were so excited to ride bikes, we just took off. It was good exercise and a great morning ride!
Not the kind of place we would necessarily pick...until now. We went back twice more.
Once we return, we hear that our friends intend to head to Punta Uva for the day too. So we get ourselves ready and head back out to make the trek again. By the second time, it's mid-morning and a lot hotter. By the time we reach an organic food restaurant ~3km from our final destination, I've had enough of the heat. Kas and I stop for a plate of hummus and a couple of ginger lemonades. It was surprisingly good! All of it. We loved it. The manager of the organic store connected to the restaurant was being loud and over the top talking with other patrons about energy in the universe and love and yoga and I don't know what else. He was almost out of place, living and working in an area with such a chilled out, slow vibe. Maybe he saw my "oh my gosh" face when he apologized to me, and before we knew it, Kas and I were sucked in by his energy and effusiveness and we stayed another 15 minutes in a high-intensity conversation, with a side sample of organic chocolate.
Finally, we left the restaurant, arrived at the beach of Punta Uva and quickly understood that the second trek was totally worth it. The water was clear, the waves rolled but didn't pull, and we swam and hung in the water for quite some time. Kas and I hung most of the day, and hiked a bit into a nearby trail to see the ocean crashing into the rocks high above.
The trees and cliff looked fake -- like a backdrop you could pull down.
Our friends did make it to the beach, but only for a short time. We met up with them again that night for a couple of drinks at Outback Jacks. Rain forced us from our table outside, and at the bar area we found baskets of old-ass eyeglasses. A fashion show followed.
Overall, this was one of my favorite days on our entire trip.
Kasia and Katrina looking fine!