Caribbean Coast

We have traveled quite a bit up and down the Caribbean coast of CR and I agree with Scott, I know of no gated communities as of yet in that area. The water is clearer which offers better diving and snorkling than you will find on the Pacific side. Better waves for surfing and boogie boarding on the Pacific side. The Pacific side though has plenty of sunshine. We just finished a beautiful August with Sunshine almost every day, with the usual evening or late night rains. If you were here last year, then you experienced one of the heaviest rainy seasons on record and for anyone that may have that as their only CR experience, they would have a somewhat skewed view of things.

I lived on the Caribbean coast last year for awhile, in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. To me, the Caribbean is the most beautiful, because it is still so untouched. There are no gated communities. Puerto Viejo and the area to the south, including Punta Uva, Cocles, etc., all the way down to Manzanillo, is dotted with Caribbean style homes. These are made of wood, sometimes colorful, and mostly open air living and kitchen area, although the bedrooms are sometimes screened. You’ll find most people in the area living in communion with nature. We had horned beetles and bats fly through the living room in the evening, hummingbirds in the morning. The basilisk and the iguanas climbed the tree in front of us as we ate breakfast. We watched one day as a sloth made it’s way up the screen on the neighbor’s bedroom window . . . The lifestyle is very laid-back, kind of like the 60’s back in the States. You’ll find an eclectic mix of cultures, including Tico, Caribbean and indigenous. The neighbors were very kind people, the people are what make the community. Also, there were quite a few European and a few American transplants, some unique individuals who also contribute greatly to the feel of the community. It is, admittedly, hot most of the time on the Caribbean but the beauty of the area makes it all worthwhile, and living on the fringes of the rainforest, it is quite humid and has a longer rainy season.

Actually, the Caribbean does not have a “rainy season.” It can rain any month of the year. We get a great mix of rain and sunshine. We do have months that tend to be drier and months that tend to be wetter. I am very happy that we do not have an extended dry season. I do not enjoy dust, extreme heat and increased ocean temperatures. The ocean is a constant temp. here. I am equally glad that we do not have 6 months of rain, almost daily. It does not typically go for more than 10 days here without a good rain shower. Plants stay green without the need to use sprinklers. Most of our rain falls during hours of darkness. The rain is always welcome and the sun shines most of the time!