Spring Break, pt. 3: Cahuita

The bus from Puerto Viejo brought us to Cahuita in just under 40 minutes. When we got there, we stopped in an internet cafe at the bus terminal to see if Chesca had emailed us to tell us where she was staying or where to meet her. She didn't so we were starting from square one. We used the internet anyway to look at a map of Cahuita, since we didn't really know anything about it before we got there. Luckily it's an extremely small town, so it's basically impossible to get lost, everything is within walking distance, and there are places to stay on every corner. We left the bus stations with our backpacks and decided to just walk around and try to find our friends. We walked towards the water, but quickly realized that our friend were not there because the area we were in had buildings built up to the water's edge with a few docks for boats but no beach whatsoever. However, we could see a long stretch of beach from there so we walked over and found ourselves at the entrance to Cahuita National Park. We stopped in the kiosk at the entrance, where there is a log book so the park guards can monitor who is going in and out. I realized that this would be a good way to tell if our friends were there already, and asked the guard if I was allowed to read older entries. I got a weird look from her, but she let me do it anyway, and we discovered that not only Tessa, Hilary, Chelsea, and Carolyn (who had left for Cahuita earlier that day) but also Chesca and Macho were signed in! We were very excited and started to walk down the beach with our boots and backpacks on, looking pretty ridiculous compared to everyone in their bathing suits. After about 30 minutes we found the first group, but not Chesca and Macho. Everyone was already on the beach and relaxing, so we just found out where they were staying so we could rent a room, leave our stuff there, and get some beach time ourselves before the park closed at 5. We found the place without any problems and were able to rent a cabina for all four of us for $10 per person per night, which was pleasantly cheap.

On the beach in Cahuita. Photo by Rukhshana.

Roommates in front of our cabina

Our room was not particularly nice, but for little money and only a little bit of time it was perfect for our needs. We hurried back to the beach and got to soak in the warm water, which was almost as calm as Punta Uva (...but not quite!). Right before the park closed at 5, we saw a couple walking along the beach far off in the distance. I jokingly said that it had to be Chesca and Macho, but as they got closer we realized that it actually was them! We ran out of the water and greeted them with salty wet hugs and the degree of enthusiasm that you have when it's only actually been a week since you last saw someone but it feels like a year because you are used to spending every waking moment with them. It turned out they were staying in another cabina only one block away from us, so we decided to go back and shower and reconvene at 7 to have dinner together.

This parrot sat at the exit to the park and said "adios" every time someone walked out. It was very entertaining.

We all met up and walked into town (approximately three blocks away) and looked around at the restaurants to choose from. We had heard that one was particularly good, but because Cahuita is so small Chesca and Macho had actually gone there the night before, so we chose a place nearby that had outdoor seating.

Showered and ready for dinner! Photo by Ellen

We all ordered Caribbean food, which was good but (again) not extraordinary. It was nice to have everyone in one place and see Chesca and Macho again. Unfortunately since we were a pretty large group Macho had trouble understanding a lot of what we were saying, and he didn't seem as at ease as he had the last time we spent time with him. Regardless, we all had a good time together on what was (for some of us at least) our last night of spring break.

An unfortunately dark group picture. Yes, Macho is the only male. Photo by Tessa.

After dinner Chesca and Macho went back to go to bed early, because they were taking the early bus back to San Jose the next morning. The rest of us went out to a bar down the street that was having some live band play that night. It ended up being a wide variety of Latin and Caribbean dance music, and one by one we all salsa danced with Carlo, a Tico we met who used to be a dance instructor on Disney cruises. Tessa and Rukhshana had taken basic salsa lessons at CRLA and Hilary has been dancing her whole life, but even me and my other friends who had no salsa experience ended up trying it out because he was (not surprisingly) a very good lead. We didn't stay out too late, because the next morning we had reservations to go snorkeling in the park with Carlo (that's actually how we had met him earlier that day).

In the morning we stopped at a grocery store to grab quick breakfast, which was a small loaf of bread and some pineapple jam (one of my favorite Costa Rican discoveries) for me. Then we met up with Carlo's brother Luis, who took us out on their boat to snorkel in the reef offshore in Cahuita National Park.

Chelsea on the boat on the way out to snorkel

The boat ride out was short and relatively calm. We shared the boat with another group of people who I think were from Germany or Belgium. We stopped at the first reef and hopped out of the boat and into the water, which was only about 8 feet deep. I tried out my waterproof camera underwater for the first time, since I had been afraid that it would leak and I would be camera-less for the rest of my time in Costa Rica. Regardless, I took it into the water with me and was pleasantly surprised at its ability to not break while completely submerged. So, needless to say, I took a lot of pictures underwater.

Thumbs up for technology! Photo by Ellen

These were my favorite fish... they were sparkly blue!

We went to two sites on the boat to snorkel, and then took the boat to a point in the park where they provided us with snacks of fruit, cookies, and juice. We had the option of taking a guided hike back through the park with Carlo for $5 extra per person, but decided not to because of how frequently we hike for school and also because we're cheap. So, we headed back to the dock on the boat while the rest of the people that had gone with us continued hiking. We stopped at a grocery store and bought some fruit for lunch on the beach and then spent the rest of our time in the water, since Tessa and I were leaving that day at 4 pm.

Fruit feast on the beach!

We literally didn't get out of the water until almost 3, and we had to leave to change and pack our stuff. While I was swimming, a monkey stole my mango(!) so Tessa and I stopped at the grocery store again on the way to the bus stop and got some snacks for the road.

Enjoying the last day of spring break

Hilary found a big sand dollar!

When the time came, we said adios to the rest of our friends, who were staying in Cahuita for one more night. Tessa and I had decided to go back one day early so that we would have all of Sunday to pack and run errands (like buying more shampoo, which I was running out of). We bussed back to San Jose, still sandy and a little sunburnt (you're not allowed to wear sunscreen while snorkeling because it's bad for the reef), and got back around 9 pm. We went to dinner at our favorite pizza place and then took a cab home, ready to meet up the next day to go to the mall and pack for the second half of the semester!