Personal Travel Companion

A little piece of Rasta Culture sitting on the Eastern shores of Costa Rica.  Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (commonly known just as Puerto Viejo) is a beach lover’s paradise.   Located in the Limon province on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, the town of Puerto Viejo has a decidedly Caribbean flavor from the food, to the music and even the people themselves which are a unique blend of Latino, Afro-Caribbean and Bribri indigenous cultures.  The well rounded list of local activities from surfing to jungle tours to rafting and a rousing night life has made this little town a hot destination for tourists.  It now boasts the largest tourist traffic on the East coast of Costa Rica.   But don't be scared off, it has a long way to go before it becomes a "tourist mecca".  You still won't find a building over two stories high and pavement is patchy, usually found underneath dirt roads.

Mal Pais is a quiet and utterly secluded stretch of beach along the West Coast of Costa Rica (Puntarenus Province).   Recently, Forbes Magazine voted the beaches of Mal Pais and neighboring Santa Teresa as "One of the ten most beautiful in the world."   The white sands stretch as far as you can see and are completely free of hotels, resorts or any other buildings.  They exist, but just not directly on the beaches.   The biggest draw of this beach destination is the surfing.  The waves are large, well built and endless.   Because of the vast length of the beaches there is no waiting for the next wave or fighting for dominate positions.   Just move up or down the beach a little and find your own wave to claim.

Montezuma is a small little (and I do mean little) piece of paradise on the southern Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica.  The town itself is only about one square block and sits at the end of the road which comes down from Paquera.   There is also a piece of dirt road extending south which runs for maybe a mile or so playing host to several fancy but personal resorts with amazing views where the wealthier travelers hang out in "bungalows" pretending to rough it.  For the most part though the town is very quaint, and still keeps it's local flavor despite existing solely on tourism.   The majority of visitors are backpackers on a budget and there seems to be a large representation of hippie travelers donning Jamaican garb (better suited for the Caribbean side of Costa Rica).   The town attracts a lot of ex-pats, mostly castaways from the 60s who probably came on a backpack trip and simply never left.