9:30 AM – at a bus stop
Limon, Costa Rica
Spanish word of the day: Gentes (hen tayse). Use: had to sit on my bags on the bus because it was so overcrowded. The lady I gave up my seat for was telling off the bus driver on our behalf. He just kept picking up more and more people. I didn’t understand all of it, but I understood enough of her Spanish to understand she was saying things like, “We are people (Gentes). Not animals. What’s your name? I’m going to report you in Limon.”
Thought from the most crowded bus ride I’ve ever been on in my life so far: Costa Rica must be 50% forest/jungle, 10% city, and 40% banana plantation. There are SO many banana trees here.
Impression of Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
Picture Manhattan car traffic, add Bourbon street crowds, put them all on a street outside a small but relatively busy bus station, and you’ll have an idea of what we got off of the bus into in Puerto Limon.

The craziest part? It wasn’t yet 9 AM. From the broken bottles, bottle caps, and stench of urine on a side street, we’re guessing some large party took place here last night. Perhaps some carnival? In any case, the vendors are out in full force this morning, as are people looking for a bargain. To the best of our knowledge, it’s not a holiday. I would think on a Monday morning, people would be on their way to work.
Perhaps the crowds seem bigger and busier since we just came from 7 days in a very remote area, but it’s unbelievably noisy and crowded here.
At Limon bus station, if you’re going to Puerto Viejo, you have to go 2 blocks east, and 4 streets toward the ocean, to get to the bus stop to Puerto Viejo. It’s just a stop on the street, and not in the bus station at all. You also have to buy a ticket at a little station nearby, not on the bus (as some people had told us was possible). Hope this tip saves you some time and confusion if you’re in Limon, Costa Rica and wanting to get to Puerto Viejo or Manzanilla.
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Hotel Cabinas Casa Verde
3:20 PM
Bus, Internet Caf