Puntarenas

Puntarenas, poor, hot, and barely safe. i would not stop there again.

The water takes some getting used to; the waves can be strong and the salinity can be too, but this is an excellent place to surf and watch for sea turtles. The wildlife is fun, too: iguanas and scarlet macaws are just a couple of the species you may see at any given moment.

Costa Rica is very nice overall. I took a bus to the Arenal Volcano and hot springs, which was nice but 3 hours away. The volcano is rarely visible through the low clouds. Very green, possibilities of seeing all sorts of wildlife. As usual, port areas are not very nice.