Manuel Antonio
29 abril – 1 mayo
Saturday morning Pili and I left for Manuel Antonio via the 9am bus from San José. Some of you have probably heard horror stories of bus rides such as this – from riding with chickens to exceeding maximum occupancy to drivers who think they are on the NASCAR track. Well, I have none to report, thankfully. The bus was a nice, charter-type bus, with a fully functioning air-conditioning system (simply open the window and the air comes in) and all the seats were filled with a variety of folks, but not a single animal. It was about a 3 ½ - 4 hour ride, but other than being a little stuffy, was relatively painless. We could definitely feel the air get hotter, and then more humid as we traveled from our nice breezy spot in Heredia, through Alajeula, and then into the beach areas of Puntarenas. We arrived in Manuel Antonio around 1:00pm and although it was cloudy it was definitely hot and humid. Pili’s uncle lives just a block from the beach and works as the manager/caretaker of a unit of “cabinas” – very simple hotel-like rooms with a bed, table and bathroom. We were able to stay in one of the rooms in his building so it was a great set-up. Pili’s uncle, Jorge, greeted us with a smile, a kiss on the cheek (as is customary for greetings), and kitchen full of food. He had made fried fish, puré de papa (mashed potatoes), rice, beans, and a salad of tomato, cucumber, and avocado (oh yeah, and jalapeno for those who like a nice kick…). Pili and I made our way to the beach after lunch and sat, slept, and read there for a good couple of hours in the afternoon. It was still cloudy though, so there was not a drop of sun to be absorbed by my pale skin… Oh well. That night we just relaxed and watched tv in the room of Pili’s uncle. Funny how doing nothing but sitting and eating all day can make you tired.
Sunday morning we got up early and got ready for an all day trip to the beach. We bought some bread at the nearby bakery, made sandwiches, and packed those along with some fruit and our sunblock and headed for Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (the National Park in Manuel Antonio). We were there shortly after the 7am opening time and paid our entrance fee (about $2 for residents and $7 for us foreigners). The park consists of a jungle with hiking and walking trails, lots of wildlife, and of course, great beaches. We hiked up to a viewpoint and although it was only about 20 minutes of effort but thanks to the humidity we were transpiring as if we had ran a marathon. Along the way we saw a few monkeys (they are quite prevalent in the park), several iguanas, lizards, and a lot of lush green vegetation. It was still cloudy, but we had hopes and strong aspirations for a day of sun and soaking it up. After our hiking and wandering we planted ourselves on a nice patch of sand at the beach and camped out. To our delight, the sun did appear, and made its presence known quite forcefully actually. We spent the rest of the morning/afternoon reading, sleeping, sitting, eating, and cooling off in the water on occasion. It turned out to be a perfect day, plenty of sun, but some clouds too which were a nice break. We headed out just before the 4pm closing time and marched ourselves back to the room for a shower and another homemade meal, thanks to Jorge. To get to the park that morning we walked along the beach and crossed a very small stream and continued to walk into the jungle. At the “stream” there was a small wooden boat that was manned by a few locals who were offering folks, for a fee of course, the pleasure of crossing without getting ones feet wet. I must say that I found this rather humorous and kind of sad that people would offer this ‘service’ but even more so that it was profitable for them. Well, let me just say that on the way back I realized the morning traffic wasn’t the big money-maker. By the time we left and the tide had come in, it was more of a small lake that we had to cross. And now there was more than one group of locals with boats offering the ferry service. Can’t be too quick to judge such things I guess!
Sunday night I spent “studying” Spanish, thanks to the magic of movies dubbed over in Spanish. We watched The Count of Monte Cristo, and for having never seen the movie in English, I was proud of myself for following the story and understanding much of the dialogue as well. I am improving!
Monday morning we strolled the beach for about an hour, then came back to shower, pack and ready ourselves to catch the bus at 12:00pm to head back home. It was a great mini-getaway, and another experience in a new part of the country. Being in Manuel Antonio reminded me that this is a big tourist country… I definitely saw a good deal of “gringos” while we were there.. And it also reminded me how much I appreciate living where I do and being able to have the experience of living life as a Costa Rican would, not just as a camera-toting, Costa Rica t-shirt wearing tourist bouncing around from one hotel-lined beach thinking that English must really be the national language. :)
Saturday morning Pili and I left for Manuel Antonio via the 9am bus from San José. Some of you have probably heard horror stories of bus rides such as this – from riding with chickens to exceeding maximum occupancy to drivers who think they are on the NASCAR track. Well, I have none to report, thankfully. The bus was a nice, charter-type bus, with a fully functioning air-conditioning system (simply open the window and the air comes in) and all the seats were filled with a variety of folks, but not a single animal. It was about a 3 ½ - 4 hour ride, but other than being a little stuffy, was relatively painless. We could definitely feel the air get hotter, and then more humid as we traveled from our nice breezy spot in Heredia, through Alajeula, and then into the beach areas of Puntarenas. We arrived in Manuel Antonio around 1:00pm and although it was cloudy it was definitely hot and humid. Pili’s uncle lives just a block from the beach and works as the manager/caretaker of a unit of “cabinas” – very simple hotel-like rooms with a bed, table and bathroom. We were able to stay in one of the rooms in his building so it was a great set-up. Pili’s uncle, Jorge, greeted us with a smile, a kiss on the cheek (as is customary for greetings), and kitchen full of food. He had made fried fish, puré de papa (mashed potatoes), rice, beans, and a salad of tomato, cucumber, and avocado (oh yeah, and jalapeno for those who like a nice kick…). Pili and I made our way to the beach after lunch and sat, slept, and read there for a good couple of hours in the afternoon. It was still cloudy though, so there was not a drop of sun to be absorbed by my pale skin… Oh well. That night we just relaxed and watched tv in the room of Pili’s uncle. Funny how doing nothing but sitting and eating all day can make you tired.
Sunday morning we got up early and got ready for an all day trip to the beach. We bought some bread at the nearby bakery, made sandwiches, and packed those along with some fruit and our sunblock and headed for Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (the National Park in Manuel Antonio). We were there shortly after the 7am opening time and paid our entrance fee (about $2 for residents and $7 for us foreigners). The park consists of a jungle with hiking and walking trails, lots of wildlife, and of course, great beaches. We hiked up to a viewpoint and although it was only about 20 minutes of effort but thanks to the humidity we were transpiring as if we had ran a marathon. Along the way we saw a few monkeys (they are quite prevalent in the park), several iguanas, lizards, and a lot of lush green vegetation. It was still cloudy, but we had hopes and strong aspirations for a day of sun and soaking it up. After our hiking and wandering we planted ourselves on a nice patch of sand at the beach and camped out. To our delight, the sun did appear, and made its presence known quite forcefully actually. We spent the rest of the morning/afternoon reading, sleeping, sitting, eating, and cooling off in the water on occasion. It turned out to be a perfect day, plenty of sun, but some clouds too which were a nice break. We headed out just before the 4pm closing time and marched ourselves back to the room for a shower and another homemade meal, thanks to Jorge. To get to the park that morning we walked along the beach and crossed a very small stream and continued to walk into the jungle. At the “stream” there was a small wooden boat that was manned by a few locals who were offering folks, for a fee of course, the pleasure of crossing without getting ones feet wet. I must say that I found this rather humorous and kind of sad that people would offer this ‘service’ but even more so that it was profitable for them. Well, let me just say that on the way back I realized the morning traffic wasn’t the big money-maker. By the time we left and the tide had come in, it was more of a small lake that we had to cross. And now there was more than one group of locals with boats offering the ferry service. Can’t be too quick to judge such things I guess!
Sunday night I spent “studying” Spanish, thanks to the magic of movies dubbed over in Spanish. We watched The Count of Monte Cristo, and for having never seen the movie in English, I was proud of myself for following the story and understanding much of the dialogue as well. I am improving!
Monday morning we strolled the beach for about an hour, then came back to shower, pack and ready ourselves to catch the bus at 12:00pm to head back home. It was a great mini-getaway, and another experience in a new part of the country. Being in Manuel Antonio reminded me that this is a big tourist country… I definitely saw a good deal of “gringos” while we were there.. And it also reminded me how much I appreciate living where I do and being able to have the experience of living life as a Costa Rican would, not just as a camera-toting, Costa Rica t-shirt wearing tourist bouncing around from one hotel-lined beach thinking that English must really be the national language. :)
posted by Dynasty goes to CR at
5:37 PM
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