Costa Rica take two - and Nicaragua

I was in Costa Rica again in November.  Still not the dry season it seemed!  But, I did manage to visit some new places. 

On the Caribbean coast I visited Puerto Viejo.  This part of Costa Rica has a lot of influence from the Caribbean islands and it shows in the style of living and even the look of the people.  Apparently they didn't even have Spanish as their main language until the 60's.  Whilst there I visited a chocolate plantation and watched handmade chocolate being made.  It was pretty impressive (but I still prefer my Galaxy!).

                                          cocoa beans

                                          baby sloth

Another weekend we went to La Fortuna, to visit the Alajuelo Volcano.  The rain/fog prevented us from seeing anything but we did make the most of the 'aguas calientes' that the volcano provided.  Even though we didn't get to see the volcano, it was a relaxing weekend.

Deciding to make the most of the rain, we decided to get wet - and go river rafting.  There were about 15 of us and it was a lot of fun.

The last place I went to in Costa Rica was Samara on the Nicoya Peninsula (west coast, on the Pacific).  The sun came out for me here and I enjoyed relaxing on the beach, watching the surfers try their luck on the waves.

Whilst in Samara I met another girl travelling solo and we decided to go to Granada in Nicaragua.  This was my favourite place.  It's an old colonial town and the buildings are well preserved, and very colourful.  Granada is on a lake and has a very peaceful atmosphere.  We also visited a volcanic crater lake and enjoyed the views and tourist shopping there!