Caribbean Blue

Our first trip to the Caribbean as a family was super sweet. We stayed in a great little cabin in Playa Chiquita, just south of Puerto Viejo. I haven't been back to this side of Costa Rica in 20 years so it was wild to see all of the changes. Play Chiquita was just a short walk away from our place. Once we arrived, we decided to go investigate:) The kids, armed with a bucket and their flip flops, led the way. We arrived at sunset and found the waters to be tranquil and sweet. The currents are notoriously super strong there so we took good care to be safe and played until it was dark! 

Walking back, we discovered there was a great pizza place at the corner of our road. All sandy and tired out, we ate pizza, walked back to our cottage and slept happily through the night. 

The next day we went to playa Cocles to play in the ocean. Didn't take any pictures there but it was a bit of a wild swim. The currents were super strong and the lifeguards were really strict. For good reason. We were allowed to swim in front of one flag but often found ourselves much further down the beach. The lifeguards were all paying close attention and we were grateful for their guidance. The currents changed quick and it was fun, but not always relaxing! We swam long enough to tire ourselves out, bodysurfed some of the bigger waves and then went home to relax before heading into Puerto Viejo. I missed the carribean colors and how deep the jungle feels on this side. 

We wandered around for a while, ate some ice cream and decided we would try and find a place to swim. It was low tide, and the waters around Puerto Viejo were mostly exposed coral reef so we headed out of town to Playa Negra to see if the beach was a good place to swim and watch sunset. 

It did not disappoint. First, the beach is volcanic black sand. Amazing. Second, it was the super moon rising and we were in the most incredible place to see it happen.

Eli first pulled the super moon from the edge of the world, and sent it into the sky. He's been really working on those super powers since being down here. 

It was then Ayden's turn to shine. She literally held the moon in her hands. The power these two have!

It was an incredible night!!

The next day we visited the Jaguar Rescue Center which is a temporary, and less often, permanent home for ill, injured or orphaned animals. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable and taught us how we can support keeping animals wild and protect them from human interference. We saw monkeys, macaws, crocodiles, lots of birds, snakes, and turtles. 

Each of the animals we visited were rescued at some point but usually had a sad story which led to them not being able to be released. The money raised by these tours allows for the rescue center to rehabilitate and release 90% of the animals that come to the center. While we were there, they actually bought in a mother howler monkey who was electrocuted by open wires (none of the wires used for electricity in CR are insulated) Unfortunately the baby monkey didn't make it:(. It was a really powerful moment for all of us. We had never realized that the wires aren't insulated, and how complex a problem that it creates, where both humans and wildlife cohabitate. It gave us some perspective. We hope to visit that rescue center again. They do incredible work. 

We spent the afternoon that day in Manzanillo, at the end of the road on the Caribbean side. It is almost as untouched as it was 20 years ago when I used to hike out to Punta Mona (educational center) from Manzanillo with groups of students. We used to hike through Manzanillo National Reserve. And it was really cool to take Adam and the kids out there to see the beauty of this coast.

The waters were incredibly blue. We hiked, found the largest sprouted seed ever (hey there coconut), found shells to make mandalas on the beach and spent time wide eyed watching the water get more beautiful with every turn. 

What a sweet adventure. We found another beach to swim at until sunset (with a shipwreck!) where the kids made some friends and built a sandcastle to end the evening. 

It was a great trip to start off the kids "summer vacation". We came back with buckets worth of sand in the car and really big ole smiles on our faces.