Cahuita: Cow Whee What?
There was no breeze and the town felt almost deserted in the mid-afternoon sun as we entered Cahuita for the first time after a forty minute walk down a dirt road from El Jardin Glorioso where we were staying.
At the northern end of the main street was the first grocery store named, incongruously, the Safari, and about three short blocks away and anchoring the other end was the second grocery store, the Vaz #2. Cahuita National Park sat at the southern edge of the town. Two additional streets in Cahuita pointed west; they linked up near the bus station on the road out of town.
Cahuita is a funky little Caribbean beach town where the days play out slowly and there just isn’t a lot to get excited about. It’s a laid-back place for the traveler who wants to enjoy the mix of rugged coral, black and golden sand beaches and hike through the rainforests rather than party the night away. The name is derived from an indigenous word Cawi for the towering, twisted Sangrillo trees that, along with mango, palms and a variety of other trees, comprise the coastal forest. The town’s origins can be tracked back to Africans who were brought via Jamaica in the late 1800’s to build the coffee railroad from San Jose and work the banana plantations. The Afro-Caribbean culture is still in evidence among the local population and a jumble of Caribbean patois, English and Spanish seems to be the language of communication.
After a few long walks into town to buy groceries or sample the restaurants we followed our hosts advice and rented bicycles for 5,000 Colones ($10) a day; big clunky, graceless, single-speed contraptions with sluggish coaster brakes. These sped us on our way with less effort along the dirt roads and we explored the national park and the town and its environs at our leisure (as everything seems to be done in this humid, tropical area).
Cahuita National Park was established in 1970 and is Costa Rica’s only free national park. It’s small land mass, 2600 acres, was established to protect the large coral reef off the Caribbean coast which is still endangered.
We donated towards the park’s maintenance, chained our bikes and walked for a few hours along its trails, beaches and occasionally upon long, wooden, raised footpaths elevated above swampy ground. The sun overhead was filtered by the coastal forest canopy, the air humid and the atmosphere quiet and tranquil, broken occasionally by some insect buzzing or a birdsong.
Our hike was gratifying although we had hoped to glimpse either the two or three-toed sloths or a troop of capuchin monkeys inhabiting the park. Our efforts however rewarded us with the sighting of a lone howler monkey high in the trees and a couple of raccoons ambling across the path. And, thankfully, no pit vipers were spotted either since they also occupy the park.
Since we had no luck spotting the sloths in the park we hopped a bus to the nearby town of Puerto Viejo and visited the Jaguar Rescue Center, a sanctuary that protects injured animals and returns them to the wild whenever possible. And, finally, we saw sloths, both two and three-toed, high in the trees adjoining the property (so we can truthfully say we saw them in the wild) and climbing sideways along branches or hanging upside down inside the sanctuary. We saw several varieties of frogs alongside a cleverly landscaped natural-looking lagoon including one so cleverly camouflaged that it nearly defied the focus on our camera. In several sturdy
cages were species of the poisonous snakes including the fer-de-lance and the golden eyelash pit viper. There was a half-blinded anteater that had been rescued and (so cool!) four small baby anteaters and a few baby howler monkeys. Although we’re not zoo fans the Jaguar Rescue Center was a unique, educational and uplifting experience that we really enjoyed.
In retrospect we’ll still stand by our statement that there’s not a lot to get excited about in Cahuita; that’s different from not a lot to do. You just don’t get too animated – that can be hard work in the hot tropical sun, don’t you know.
By Anita and Richard, May, 2014
Great photos in this post. We climbed a volcano in Costa Rica – and I remember the humidity well – and always being on the lookout for snakes. We saw one long green thing – fortunately not poisonous but did it ever blend in to its surroundings.
Beautifully written.
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Thanks Leigh. We loved both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica and the difference between the two is so startling. The Caribbean side is undeveloped and makes you feel that you’re discovering the country for yourself while the Pacific side is populated with expats, tourists and sales people, etc. wanting to sell you as much luxury and adventure as you want (or can afford)!
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The lady time I went hiking in Costa Rica our guide was petrified of encountering a flying fer d’ lance. Dear God in heaven—snakes can fly?
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“Lady” should be “last”. Damn you auto – correct!
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Lol! We figured that was what you meant!
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Thankfully, the only fer d’ lances we saw were in cages for our viewing pleasure. I wasn’t aware that they fly but I know they like to wind their way into tree branches. Maybe they drop down… Anyway, I wouldn’t want to bank on one’s chances of anti-venom reaching a person in time to be effective!
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Anita and Richard, your last photo stopped me dead in my tracks! Wow! And I love the baby anteaters. Cahuita sounds like my kind of place – relaxed! 🙂 ~Terri
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Thanks, Terri. It almost looks like that little frog posed for us!
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Can’t imagine what fun it must have been to bump into the baby howler monkeys!
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Baby animals of any kind are always favorites of ours! However, howler monkeys are still so exotic to us that we had an especially good time watching these little creatures at the rescue center. We’ve also had the good fortune to see and hear them several times in their natural surroundings during our travels. I don’t think we’ll ever get tired of hearing them howl!
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great capture on the images; fun tree frog! Ah, Costa Rica! The Caribbean side warrants a trip!
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We always feel lucky when we get a good photo and the tree frog just presented himself to us like he was posing. Now that we’re on the Pacific side of Costa Rica it really is interesting how different the two coasts are from one another – almost like being in different countries!
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Holy SMOKES! That pic of the sloth and especially the FROG are A.MAZ.ING! And yes, I so remember the distinctive call of the Howler monkeys there in Costa Rica. It’s been years now since I was last in Cahuita – amazingly (and most happily) it seems little has changed. 😉
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It would be easy to imagine that Cahuita hasn’t changed much over the years as the whole area feels removed from civilization. However, and thankfully, the Wi-Fi that we were able to access worked great and, after the internet shop couldn’t get our flash drive and their printer synced, the Vaz Hotel was kind enough to print out our boarding passes for the return trip on the shuttle bus so a few things have changed…
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What delightful pics, as well as the opening illustration. Really makes me want to return to Costa Rica and continue exploring. Especially since I now know that they are growing some pretty awesome cacao. Thx for the post.
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There’s so much to explore and discover in this country. And, as you said, there’s the added bonus of stumbling across Costa Rican cacao!
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I’d love to visit Cahuita National Park some day! Love the photo of the frog!
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That frog was just begging to get his picture taken – so photogenic!
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What sweet photos of the animals in their native habitat. This appears to be a very quiet and less hectic place to visit.
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It really was terrific to see the volunteers working so hard to rehabilitate the animals in hopes that they could return to the wild and caring for the animals who needed a more sheltered environment. The whole place was focused on nurturing the animals and educating visitors.
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I love riding bikes, but don’t get to do so often enough. Last year in Paris – in winter – we took a bicycle tour of the city and had a blast. It’s such a fun way to get around and you get the added bonus of some exercise. Love the photo of the little monkey fellow asleep on the fence.
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It had been a few years since we’d been on bikes and we had a great time pedaling around the town. Unlike so many things that we used to do and our bodies refuse to do now the saying, “It’s just like riding a bicycle” was true in this case!
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Looks like an untouched paradise!
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It is beautiful and there are a lot of people in the background working hard to protect the rain forests, coral reefs and animals that comprise this paradise.
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Thanks for taking me on your visit to Cahuita. I’ve never been to Costa Rica, but hope to visit later this year.
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Costa Rica offers something for everyone and is an amazing country. We’ve been lucky enough to visit both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts as well as see some of the interior and hope to explore more while we’re here. When you visit we know you’ll find so much to enjoy!.
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Well that was a fun tour, love places that have rescue centers like this and you get to be a little more involved and can take better pictures.
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We enjoyed the Jaguar Rescue Center so much and it was fun to write about the experience. Glad you enjoyed the tour!
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This national park of Costa Rica sounds great. It is a worthy donation to contribute $$ and to share information about it!
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The park contributes to the economy of the town by drawing in tourists and is staffed by locals who live in the area. Always feels good to support both the local economy and a park which provides such a lovely place to walk, swim and look for the creatures who live there.
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The days in Cahuita may play out slowly, but you made it sound very inviting. Love your photos.
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Slow days are great! I love waking up in the morning with the big question of “What do I WANT to do today” versus “What do I HAVE to do today”!
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I am not sure the first comment registered as I hadn’t signed in before writing it. In summary, great post. this is our kind of place.
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Thanks!
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These are our favorite kind of places. Beautiful photos and your narrative caused the travel bug in me to start rousing itself.
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We like out-of-the-way places, too, or staying at places during the off season. Makes them feel more like a discovery.
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This would be right up my street because I don’t like zoos either but would love to see a sloth! 🙂
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We were so glad to have a chance to see some sloths and the anteaters were a big bonus, too!
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Very interesting, another great post!!
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So glad you liked it. Cahuita seemed to so removed from the “busyness” of the modern world and a throwback to simpler times.
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Beautiful pictures and beautifully written description.
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Thanks! It seemed that everywhere we went in the area there were photo opportunities!
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