Snorkeling in Cahuita

February 9^th-11^th, 2015

I had contemplated camping and hiking in Corcovado National Park but decided that the three days required to do it would not give me enough time in Panama, so seeing anteaters and tapirs would have to wait.  Instead I hopped on a local bus to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.  I changed buses in the port town of Limon and headed south to a sleepy little town called Cahuita.  Most tourists go a little further south to Puerto Viejo which is a bit more of a party town but Cahuita has a national park with coral reefs, perfect for snorkelling.

Reaching the Caribbean:

The hostel I stayed at, Hakuna Matata, was right next door to the bus station which was convenient.  It was a decent place but I had read reviews on TripAdvisor complaining about a big stinky dog…and they weren’t kidding.  I love dogs but this guy was super smelly, but still well loved by the owners, so he didn’t need any extra lovin’ from me.

The stinky canine...he's massive too...probably weighs 140 pounds!

I wandered around town to get my bearings, then ventured down to the beach to read for a bit.  What a gorgeous place to hang out, nice white sand bordered by palm trees and warm turquoise blue water.  Later I made my arrangements for snorkelling the next morning as it’s mandatory to do it with a guide, plus you need a boat to get there.  I finished the afternoon with a few beers at the Coco Bar/Restaurant, on one of the main corners of town.  A super happy and enthusiastic acoustic guitar player kept me there a little longer as he belted out some good tunes.

The beach, looking at Cahuita National Park:

With a beer..

A fairly typical house in town.

I loved this wooden bike:

The snorkeling turned out to be some of the best I’ve ever done.  It was relatively shallow water populated with tons of different fish, magnificent coral of varying types, I saw one big lobster and the highlight was two sting rays, the first I’ve seen while snorkeling.  I sure wish I had purchased a waterproof camera back in Phoenix when we got one for my niece Brenna for Christmas.  So unfortunately all of the awesome underwater action is only on my mental camera.

Our set off point:

Motoring out:

Other snorkelers: 

Post swimming:

We stopped on the tip of the park's peninsula for some fruit.  What a gorgeous place:

The view back to the beach I was at the day before:

They have signs not to feed the monkeys but this guy got a hold of a cantaloupe skin and worked it for all he could get:

Later that afternoon I caught a local bus to Puerto Viejo, I wanted to check out what all the buzz about the place was.  It is a nice town and definitely there is more going on than in Cahuita but I was happy with my choice of where I was staying.

The view from Puerto Viejo back towards Cahuita:

I loved this guy's fro on the left and the "baba" on the right:

Now it’s time for Panama!  Panama-ah-oh-ah-ah-ah! (cue Van Halen)