Puerto Viejo - and my cycling proficiency test

We’re spending three days in Puerto Viejo in a comfortable hotel set amidst the rain forest.  Our room is in a cabin reached up a wooden staircase.  Although it’s very comfy, there are two drawbacks 

• ·      The bed is the noisiest we’ve ever slept in and starts creaking and groaning at the slightest movement
• ·      The tin roof appears to be an adventure playground for a large iguana who scuttles about with hob nailed boots making a racket ‘till about 5 in the morning!

On the plus side there’s a lovely bar,  the Sol de Carib which overlooks Coccles beach and sells food and refreshments – we immediately adopt it as our local.

On our way back to our room on the first night we come face to face with a large sloth hanging to the fence near the hotel entrance.  We get close up and personal with this lovely creature who doesn’t appear to mind our attentions and John gets to stroke it.  We’re so lucky to get this close as these gorgeous bundles only risk coming down from the trees once a week to carry out their ablutions. Worrying fact – sloths can pass a third of their body weight in one sitting!!

Our first sloth - just hanging around

Up close and personal

Next day, fired up and ready to go we head off to the Jaguar Rescue Center - it is only open for tours twice a day so we opt for the early morning session thinking it may be a little cooler - it wasn’t but the Centre is fantastic with many orphaned and rescued animals on display

Who are you looking at?

The naughty Magyar (who ate all the chickens)

An Ocelot

Why would you rescue a pit viper?

Getting cuter

Mmmm Termites

And now for the stars of the show

We hired bikes to get around – you never forget how to ride a bike and riding a bike is simple. You’d think so but my first attempt catapults me into the bushes and a grazed knee – still with John’s patient and supportive comments I soon get the hang of things and we set of into the town just up the road where we stop to watch the surfers and the pelicans.

We do deliveries too

John spent ages investigating the very disheveled camper van which I think he wanted to bring home

Whhhyyyyyyyy?

Our plan was to picnic on the beach but after riding 10 kilometers in the opposite direction with no obvious picnic site and with our posteriors starting to feel a little strained we return to the hotel.  On the way a wagon decided to get a little too close to me and sent me whizzing down an embankment where I hit a fence and grazed the other knee.  Still its good to have a matching pair!

Cockles Beach

Back at base a cool beer and a swim cooled us down and helped to heal my knees