Puerto Viejo, Talamanca

Between the Caribbean Sea and the Limón jungle is a town that exudes happiness and relaxation. This town is called Puerto Viejo and is located forty-eight kilometers southeast of Limón. Puerto Viejo is part of the Talamanca canton and is just some kilometers away from the Cahuita National Park. This small city does not lack anything, it has all kinds of services and is close to everything from the beach to the forest to the reefs to surfing and people.

For those looking for beautiful beaches to dive, swim, or surf, this town has an enviable location. But if you are a fan of hiking in exuberant mountainous jungles, Puerto Viejo has the best places around. Parks with trails to go into the forest and observe all kinds of plants and animals.

Beaches, surf and diving

“Salsa Brava” meaning something like “mad sauce” is the name of the beach that local and foreign surfers visit for its high and heavy waves. Not recommended for beginners, Salsa Brava has a reputation for making surfers sometimes doubtful of getting in the water. A coral reef break could be dangerous if surfers are not careful enough.
Even if you are not into surfing, watching daredevils while eating at the beach restaurant is worth it.
For divers, the Cahuita National park counts with a beautiful 600-acre coral reef. Sadly climate change has reduced the coral reef. So, if you are planning to postpone your travel to Costa Rica to visit the reef, well, maybe you should do it now before this wonder of nature is gone.
For casual swimmers, kids, and beach lovers, Puerto Viejo is really close to the best beaches in the country. You have plenty to choose from, Conchal with his white sand and rough but funny to play with waves to Manzanillo where waves are almost no present.
Manzanillo feels like a huge pool. But talking about unique beaches, Playa Negra, which is just some meters away from downtown has the property of having black sands.

Hiking

If you are more into relaxing activities like just walking and exploring around, you can visit the Cahuita National Park. It has a main trail that takes you to the reef then you can walk pleasantly on the Puerto Vargas beach. After walking for a while, you meet the trail back to the second entrance.
Same for Manzanillo-Gandoca Natural Refuge. With its untouched beaches, it becomes the perfect place to feel like an explorer visiting the “new world”.
Also, you can just go to Bribri, a town just by foot, bicycle or car. Then take the trails to the waterfalls. There are different waterfalls near the village so it would be wise to ask locals which are the best to go according to your physical condition. You can ask for a pond to take a dive in too, plenty of them.
Almost no road around Puerto Viejo isn’t paved yet. While some people would see this as a negative trait, for most is the best way to give rustic vibes to the zone. You can take any of those roads by foot or bike and you’ll find yourself inside the forest very fast.
Many animals and birds lurk around these roads, big trees, and all kinds of stuff you cannot see in the city.

Downtown

Puerto Viejo can be crowded sometimes. It can be very quiet too. Most people go by around town on bikes or on foot. So, even if there are a lot of people around you won’t hear loud cars or trucks.
You will only hear the music of the bars and restaurants and the chatting of others with the background of the waves hitting Playa Negra beach.
Downtown is lively at night with people dancing in the bars near the beach, live music, and people walking on the streets. Some of them hit the beach for intimate talking and to watch the moon before going to sleep.
Hotels and cabins are outside downtown, so do not get worried about the noise of downtown taking valuable sleep hours from you.

Conclusion

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is simply the best hot spot to visit on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. It has beaches with strong waves for experienced surfers. Beaches with almost no waves for swimmers and kids. Then plenty of natural attractions for hikers and explorers. The question here is not “why?” but “when?”. When are you going to visit Puerto Viejo with one of our tours or rent one of our motorcycles.

The Montezuma Waterfall

The Montezuma Waterfall is located behind the town of the same name. The waterfall is the result of the plateau ending almost near the seashore. Literally, the waterfall is just some hundred meters from the beach. Although this, is not easy to access, you have to be a good physical condition.

Accessing the Waterfall

Before going into this topic, it is very important to mention that there is more than “one” waterfall. The waterfall itself is divided into different sections. The higher sections are really hard to access and you need really good physical condition. This is why the most popular waterfall is the bottom one, the easiest to access.
Also, do not go there if it is or was recently raining, check the weather conditions on the zone before visiting the Montezuma waterfall.

No matter the section you want to access, you need to dress appropriately. Hiking clothes and shoes are very recommended. Since there are ponds where you can swim, you can take swimming clothes with you in your backpack.
The entrance to the trail that will take you to the waterfall is just going west of downtown Montezuma. You’ll find a bridge and next to it is the entrance. There, a parking lot is located next to the entrance. Not bad considering that if you rented motorcycles you can leave them there for a small amount of money.
The trail is not pavemented and goes parallel to the Montezuma river. From the entrance to the Waterfall is like 1.5 kilometers. Despite the river offering some nice ponds, you should not get distracted, the best is yet to come.

The bridge near to the entrance

Choose your destiny

As you get closer to the waterfall, you can see the trail splits in two. The trail that still goes alongside the river will take you to the lower waterfall. Since is the most popular the pond can be crowded, so maybe you would like to leave it for the last of the trip.
If you take the other trail, that will lead you to the upper waterfall. You still have quite a walk to get there, maybe 10 to 20 minutes and it is uphill. Do not get there if you don’t feel in good shape.
Then, after that extra walk, you’ll find the pond and the first waterfall. It is a small waterfall, around 3 meters high. It has some nice stones where you can sit while receiving the water on your back. From the edge of the pond, you can see the second waterfall with its own pond. Although maybe you can find some locals jumping to the second pond, it is not recommended by any means.
Once you finish here, you can go back to the lower waterfall. There, a nice pond to swim in awaits you, and if you are lucky, watch some locals and foreigners jumping to the pond. Some people jump from very high.

Conclusion

It is better to go back to the entrance at like 4:00 PM as there is still enough sunlight to see the path well. Be sure you won’t be driving a lot after visiting the waterfall, the trip could be exhausting. Do not forget your sunblock and take some snacks with you.

Royal Enfield Himalayan

This time we are not going to speak about a place but our most recent motorbike: The Royal Enfield Himalayan is an Indian-made motorcycle fabricated by the Indian company Royal Enfield. This company has been in the business since 67 years ago. They were part of the Enfield Cycle Company, which was based in England.
Now they are part of another Indian automotive company called Eicher Motors Limited.

Royal Enfield has maintained for decades their classic design while keeping a very competitive price in the motorbike market. India does not have the best roads. Rural underdevelopment, wild weather, and irregular geography make India a country in need of sturdy motorcycles.

Hence the need of making motorcycles that can endure the hard roads and sometimes even the lack of them. This is also the reason that the Himalayan model is the best suited for off-road tours in Costa Rica. It is a motorcycle that gets the job done and it will take you anywhere in the country.

Conclusion

As we mentioned before, the Royal Enfield Himalayan has a very competitive price. This allows Pura Vida Motorbike to rent an efficient and accessible motorcycle for you to travel alone or inside our tours.
Do not hesitate to check the tours, let’s explore Costa Rica, the beaches, the volcanos, the roads, riding the Himalayan motorbike!!

Technical specifications

Engine: 411cc, SOHC, air-cooled single, 4 valves || Bore x Stroke: 78.0 x 86.0mm || Transmission/Final Drive: 5-speed/chain || Fuel Delivery: Electronic fuel injection w/ 33mm throttle body || Clutch: Wet, multiple disc || Frame:Half-duplex split cradle || Front Suspension: 41mm telescopic fork, nonadjustable; 7.9 in. travel || Rear Suspension:Monoshock, nonadjustable; 7.1 in. travel || Front Brake: 2-piston caliper, 300mm disc w/ ABS ||
Rear Brake: 1-piston floating caliper, 240mm disc w/ ABS || Wheels, Front/Rear: Spoked wheels w/ aluminum rims; 21 in. || 17 in. Tires, || Front/Rear: 90/90-21 / 120/90-17 || Rake/Trail: 36.0°/4.4 in. || Wheelbase: 58.0 in. || Ground Clearance: 8.6 in. || Seat Height: 31.5 in. || Fuel Capacity: 4.0 gal. || Wet Weight: 439 lb.

More info of this motorbike here.

The most important city in Costa Rica

San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica. The administrative buildings of the country are not located there but in Zapote. Despite this, everyone consider it the most wealthy and populated city in the country.

San Jose is also a very strategic point for the traveler. From here you can go everywhere in the country.
The Braulio Carrillo highway that goes to the most important seaport, Limon, starts in the northern limits of the city. The General Cañas highway, another important route that goes to the International airport, starts in the west limit. The same thing we can say about Florencio del Castillo highway, a very important route that connects San Jose with Cartago. Thus connecting the city with the southern part of the country.

This is why PVM has its operational base in this city. From here we rent our bikes and it is the main point to start our tours.
If the customer doesn’t want to go to San Jose when renting our motorbikes we take it to the airport. The airport is 20KM west of the city.

Is it worth visiting San Jose?

But before going somewhere else we think San Jose has some points of interest that are worth the visit. The capital is culturally rich, with at least 10 museums, historical buildings, and places.
The city counts with more than ten museums. Most of them have exhibitions of very important historic value pieces. Other museums exhibit contemporary art or natural history. We would like to expand more info about the best museums in another post soon.

To check out how people spend their free time in the capital, there is nothing better than visiting plazas. The Plaza de La Cultura and the Plaza de la Democracia are the best places to start. There are plenty of people sitting on the bench and they are just next to two very important historical buildings. This is another issue we will be expanding on in another post.

You can visit Mercado Central, where narrow passageways take you to stores selling goods Costa Rican people uses on their houses. The market also counts with plenty of restaurants or “Sodas”, the way locals call small restaurants serving local food including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The city surely has a lot to offer who those who are curious about Costa Rica customs and history. We will expand everything about San Jose in the next posts.
If you want to include San Jose in any of our tours you can write us or you can explore it by yourself after renting a motorcycle with us.