Manuel Antonio

We wanted to go to Corcovado National Park and see the turtles but we knew we would be pushing it for time since it was so far south and in order to get there you have to park your car and take a ferry over. We decided to go to Manuel Antonio National Park and were told that Costa Linda was a great  place to stay. Not only was it clean and convenient, but they also had a kitchen with the biggest, cheapest breakfast in town. We found a winner! Not to mention it's also a very short walking distance to the entrance of the park as well as the public beach.

It's incredible when you realize how much you can do without doing the tours or getting a guide when you're traveling in an area like this. While a tour might offer more variety of entertainment as well as various sports activities, there is still plenty to do as long as you're comfortable venturing out on your own and keeping your eyes and ears open for the crazy little critters out there. We did a hike to the waterfalls inside Manuel Antonio where we had to cross the water about five times to actually get that far off the path to arrive at the waterfalls.
It was gorgeous! The hike was only about one kilometer in distance one way, but the wading through water and climbing up and down on the steps made by the root system of these massive trees made it a slightly moderate trek.

There are trees that grow up around a larger tree and seemingly take over the space, creating a gorgeous twist of trunks.

Trees that look like porcupines, with needles growing out of the trunk:

Trees so big around that you can't even fit your arms around them... Rocky tried:

Lizards of so many shapes and colors:

Ants that have golden heads:

The waterfall was not a very big one but I am always amazed at the beauty and constant energy.

Other things we saw on the walk through the park were sloths hiding in the trees, getting a bite to eat (not the best photo but I'm surprised we even saw one):

Howler monkeys that are almost always up for a good conversation:

White faced monkeys that want any kind of food you'll throw at them (this is prohibited though people were doing it anyway) and will get so close you can almost touch them:

Raccoons, out in the middle of the day:

Some of the largest iguanas I had ever seen:

Cayman crocodiles:

Hermet crabs:

And then the beach.

Beautiful, blue-green water and white sand.

Silly Rocky. Funny photo:

I just love this one:

The beaches inside the park weren't terribly crowded and we found another beach that was almost deserted.

Immediately after we got there, a park employee came over to tell the few of us there to get out of the water because of (very large) crocodiles that were too close to shore. He then pointed it out.... no one got back in after that. Instead, we laid down and drew in the sand. It's really neat that when you make marks in the sand it reveals black sand underneath, creating a beautiful work of art.

Back at the hostel, the monkey highway was in full effect. There were more monkeys than we could count and they were extremely interested in the human attention. I'm certain they wanted food but it wasn't going to come from me. Some had babies clinging to them and they were absolutely adorable.

We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant with a great view of the beach, nachos that make you not want your dinner, an incredible grilled Mahi Mahi dish and happy hour specials.

Finishing the evening with a sunset walk near the water was nothing less than wonderful.

The next morning we went to the public beach to just be lazy and catch some sun before we headed back to Alajuela. The waves were great and the people watching was entertaining, as always.

We saw people riding horses on the beach:

A man pushing a cart and selling flavored shaved ice:

The Costa Rica flag waving high was also a nice touch:

On the way out we grabbed a bite to eat and Rocky made a new friend:

We were both so tired driving back from Manuel Antonio that we decided to stop for the night in Jaco. We were referred to Vista Pacifico, a beautiful place on the hill overlooking the Jaco coastline.

Jan and Greg are an absolute joy and they make you feel right at home. The room was very clean and the property was quiet, tucked away and gorgeously adorned with greenery around the walkway and pool.

Breakfast at a local soda, a walk on the beach (resulting in Rocky walking back to the car with a pocketful of shells and sea weathered glass pieces) and just a bit of shopping on the main street in Jaco was all we cared to do before really heading back home.

Goodbye Jaco!