Air travel is hectic and expensive, often crowded and seems to rarely turn out exactly as planned. The trip from the airport and capital city of San Jose to the Caribe side of Costa Rica makes the airborne leg of the trip seem both insignificant and vale la pena, worth the pain.
The Limon and Talamanca provinces occupy the Eastern shore of Costa Rica. The port city of Limon, the largest and most fiscally significant city on the Caribbean in this country, is charged with the movement and mechanization of any large city and bustles with locals and tourists alike, all pursuing capitalistic endeavors. Cargo ships dwarf the harbor and giant Lego blocks stamped with Dole and Del Monte crowd their decks. It is through this deep water port that the great majority of Costa Rica's chief export leaves.
Many Costa Rica-bound travelers and most everyone that have perused a Lonely Planet book or website have heard of Puerto Viejo. One could assert that this is the Caribbean port city for backpackers and the general demographic is 20-30 years of age and likes beer. It is a wonderfully beautiful town, laid back and chock-full of international travelers seeking the island feel. Vendors abound, all looking to tap into the transient wealth that is tourism.
Notably less publicized and infinitely quieter is Cahuita. Cahuita is about an hour South of Limon and a half-hour north of Puerto Viejo. This gem of a town, some say, is like Puerto Viejo 
was a decade ago, before the town doubled, costs tripled, and nearly all prices were listed in USD. Patua and Spanish are still the primary languages spoken by Cahuita locals and the main (read only) road downtown was just recently paved for the first time. While tourists still frequent this sleepy paradise, it is with the intent of relaxation and peace and not anything remotely close to spring break attitude of Puerto Viejo.
The sun rises early on this side of Costa Rica, especially for anyone who calls home anywhere West of the Rockies, and the days slip smoothly by. Things take longer here, bicycles are more populous than cars and it is an easy adjustment to the white noise of crashing waves and gecko chirps from honks and sirens and your neighbor's TV. The Caribe region of Costa Rica is about as ideologically far from home as this author's seen and is worth the time, the expense and the cost of a hand-held fan to get here. Vale la pena.
See part two for the nuts and bolts of navigating from the airport to the beach, Caribe style.
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