Day 6: Puerto Viejo & Alajuela

Sea Turtle Education

We walked down to the beach with Sandra, the sweet Costa Rican woman who works with Cristian in sea turtle conservation. She showed us where they keep the endangered sea turtle eggs once female turtles nest and gave us a step-by-step description of what happens once these animals reach shore. She even got on the floor to simulate what the mother sea turtle does once they reach the shore! It was so nice to be able to interact with Sandra and Cristian; they are so passionate about sea turtle conservation and they dedicate their lives to the protection of these animals.

That afternoon it was time to say goodbye once again. We thanked Cristian and Sandra for their hospitality and we made our way to Puerto Viejo for a day trip before heading back to Alajuela for our last day in Costa Rica. We learned so much about conservation and environmentalism during our time in Manzanillo; and we will definitely never forget the gorgeous landscapes of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.

On the way to Puerto Viejo, Ronald pointed out a sloth sanctuary  We stopped to check it out and to take some pictures with the giant sloth statue in front of the complex. This sloth sanctuary takes in orphaned sloths from all around Costa Rica and rehabilitates them until they are ready to go back into the wild. We would definitely love to visit next time we find ourselves in Costa Rica!

We were all so happy once we got to Puerto Viejo. It was a colorful beach town with little jewelry shops and small restaurants at every corner. The scenery was beautiful and the people were friendly. We stopped at several souvenir stands and picked out gifts for our friends and family. After that, we chose a restaurant and ate plate after plate of delicious salad, ceviche and seafood. This was the best meal of the trip because we each got to order exactly what we were in the mood for; and the seafood was fresh and absolutely delicious.

After the amazing time we had in Puerto Viejo, it was time to head back to the lodge in Alajuela and rest up for our long journey back to the US. We had so much fun in Puerto Viejo and are looking forward to coming back!