Cahuita National Park
During my first visit to Costa Rica, in 1987, I visited Cahuita. We got there by train, which is not possible anymore now but there are talks about restoring the line. However, it is a journey to undertake only if you have plenty of time and do not mind sweating none stop for about 4 or 5 hours! The trip took us through all the banana plantations and the train driver stopped at every village to have a beer!
Cahuita looked very different then. It was of course just a small little beach town, with just a couple of cabinas to choose from. The whole area changed a lot with the 1991 earthquake, resulting in the beaches not only being much smaller, they also got covered by trees that fell down. Coming from the hills behind the park hundreds of them also came rushing down the rivers. Today still there are trunks lying on the shore. The monkeys and many birds ran away and are only now beginning to come back! The sea went 10kms back during the earthquake, and when it came back, it took more land. When I came back into the country in 1992 I found a very different Cahuita, the pueblo having grown a little and the beaches very different in appearance. What did not change is its outstanding exotic beauty. The Cahuita National Park, with 1067 hectares, offers the best reef of the country, 240 hectares of it. Sadly it did suffer damages during the earthquake as it was left uncovered when the sea retreated. It does however still offers a good variety of marine life including turtles, parrotfish, sea urchins, lobsters, small varieties of sharks, moray eels and more. Sea anemones can still be found in abundance too. Scuba diving is certainly on top of the list in Cahuita as far as activities are concerned. In total, this wonder of nature houses 128 species of algae, 44 of crustaceans, 140 of mollusks and 123 of fish The park also offers a good selection of small mammals, like the opossums, the capuchin monkeys, raccoons, porcupines and sloths. Indeed we had a sloth that apparently liked to take refuge in the tree next to the door of our room, so we did not have far to look! Small wild cats are present but hard to spot. If you like boats it is possible to make a small trip in the mangroves and watch huge blue crabs, pelicans, blue herons, green ibises and sea gulls amongst many. Boat trips on the sea can be arranged too, and it is a very pleasant experience; you should however only go on such a trip if you have a professional with you, the reefs are treacherous.
Cahuita has history also. It is said that there are the wrecks of two pirate ships in the bay, one Spanish and the other one French, and that the ghosts come pursuing tourists at night along the beaches…. No-one has ever seen or heard them, but the whole place suits the story….
As for the atmosphere of the little town, well, it is Caribbean, complete with Bob Marley, Alpha Blondie, dreadlocks, rice and beans with grilled fish, and of course a rum cocktail in the evening. The motto there is: Relax, enjoy the music, take a swim, take it easy!
Cahuita National Park is opened from 8am to 4 pm and the entrance fees $15 or $4 if you have had time to buy the ticket in advance. There is a basic camp site there complete with shower facilities, and a wide variety of hotels and cabinas to suit most budgets. Try Cabinas Colibri Paradise and Chalet Hibiscus.
by Mireille Darras
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