Puerto Viejo

Its been a while since I've posted on here! I've been really soaking in Costa Rica. I think its important to refrain from spending your time behind a camera or a blog. Get out there and experience things in person! So two weekends ago I went to Puerto Viejo. It was extremely fun! Although Puerto Viejo is known for being one of the most dangerous parts of the country, if you stay in a group and behave in a smart manner, no harm should come to you. That is what I did with the other students and no problems arose. I went in a big group (about 10 students). During the days, we went to local beaches. The water was so clear, the sand was white, and the environment was really pretty (along the beach that is). Once we strayed from the beach, the trash along the streets was visible. Puerto Viejo is poverty stricken in some areas and the people seem to be very laid back. This is when the term Pura Vida can develop into a negative phrase. At night, we walked around Puerto Viejo and bar hopped. The dancing was fun and the people were hilarious. It was very crowded and loud in the town so we made sure to take safety precautions. Puerto Viejo is one of my favorite spots in Costa Rica. I really enjoyed the culture, from what I saw. We stayed at a hostel called Rocking J's. If definitely catered to my age group and the decorations of the hostel were very.... how can I put this..... well hipster. Don't get me wrong, all the art was really cool and it was fun just to walk around and see the designs, but to me, it wasn't genuine. When we asked the employees for help, they acted rudely and sometimes ignored us. It was extremely annoying and I started to dislike the place for that reason. I could really tell it was all a scheme to attract people from our age group and charge them ridiculous amounts of money. Although my host mom told me that I could drink the water everywhere in Costa Rica, this hostel said we couldn't so they charged us for water. (Don't worry I rebelled and boiled my own tap water on the stove). I have about 80 bug bites on my legs from the nights in Puerto Viejo. So remember to apply your bug spray and maybe wear long pants! Soak up the sun at the beach because that is easily the best part. I took the bus down to the last set of beaches and the corals were great to see and swim across.