We took the land crossing from Bocas Del Toro, Panama into Costa Rica which turned out to be quite straightforward.

You get your exit stamp on the Panama side and then cross the bridge to get your entry visa for Costa Rica. So technically you are nowhere for a while!

From the border we headed on to our first stop, Puerto Viejo, a chilled town on the south eastern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

The whole journey was completed in half a day.

Puerto Viejo is a fun town, if a bit hectic as traffic tries to squeeze through its main street but it has a friendly vibe and some great restaurants.

There’s a small beach, which gets used by a few sunbathers, families and Pelicans alike.

It’s a great spot to watch the sunset with some funky bars, many with views for a sundowner.

We visited the Jaguar Rescue Centre which is not too far from the town. Zoo’s are not allowed in Costa Rica, so this centre has evolved into a general rescue centre for any wildlife that needs temporary care or possibly long term housing to keep safe due to injury or inability to release.

The entry fees go towards paying for feeding the animals and they also support action on de-electrification of power lines used by Sloths and Monkeys.

It’s a nice place to visit and see some of these beautiful creatures.

We checked out some of the other beaches too, the nearest is a black sand beach just a little north of the town. It’s actually a very long beach and looks so different with black sand.

We went to two other beaches, both just a few miles south of the town.

The closest is Playa Cocles, a long wide beach favoured by surfers which gives it a cool vibe. You can swim in the water but the water is shallow for quite a bit and then you have to deal with some fresh waves once at waist height.

When we were there i found a fabulous jerk chicken vendor with the best rice and beans ever!

Along the beach there are a few places to chill out in the shade and escape the heat.

Further south we went to Playa Punta Uva but found that the next beach along, Playa Punta Uva Arrecife was nicer.

This is a pretty swimming beach which runs on and on around the headland to the right.

When we went it was pretty busy with families and groups sat under the shade of the palm trees along much of the beach.

We saw our first Sloth just walking along a street just two blocks back from the main road!

We are sad to be leaving this cool place, next we head to the capital San Jose before heading across to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.