Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo, Costa Rica

Please see the first post on Costa Rica for important details about this post.

We ended up staying in Puerto Viejo for 4 nights, simply because it was a very relaxing town, not expensive, and probably the most beautiful place we had been to in Costa Rica. In fact, we would have probably stayed longer if not for the fact that we ran out of cash and could not get anymore from the town's single ATM. Here's the beach just outside of town with a view of the town:

One of the nicest things about the town was the relaxed atmosphere and lack of visitors. One could hear Bob Marley playing all the time and there were plenty of souvenir stalls and shops everywhere. There weren't any remarkable restaurants there, although just nearby in Cahuita is a great creperie called Cafe el Parquecito that serves crepes loaded with delicious fresh fruit.

One of the biggest attractions of Puerto Viejo is the Guandaco-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. Unlike Manuel Antonio, this is a rather remote area where guides are most definitely necessary. Between the refuge and Puerto Viejo is several kilometers or amazing beaches as well as the small town of Manzanillo.

The beaches at Manzanillo were probably the most beautiful in the country that we saw and luckily they were barely developed. They also yielded some of the best photographs I've ever made. Here's a selection: