Alright, I'm falling a little behind. But do not worry, if all goes according to plan I should be almost completely caught up before this next weekends adventure :)
So, TWO weekends ago we went to a little beach town called Quepos. Quepos's claim to fame is that it is the nearest town and therefore the entryway to the Manuel Antonio nature reserve. Manuel Antonio is the smallest of all the national parks in Costa Rica, and is located on the pacific coastline. In fact, a large part of Manuel Antonio is actually just the beach. We figured this weekend would be the perfect one to go, as it was Jackie's last weekend to travel with us, plus we felt we deserved it after two weeks of volunteer work and tramping through the cloud forest of Monteverde. We wanted a nice, relaxing weekend.
Which it was. To an extent.
In true Jillian/Stanley/Jackie traveling fashion we did not book a hostel before our arrival, deciding instead to find one once we got there. However, one thing we did not bank on was the intense heat and humidity. We arrived at 5 pm, just around sunset, and it was like walking around with a wet blanket thrown over you. Within minutes we were all covered in sweat as we tramped up the mountains and around the roads, hearing the sound of creatures that sounded like they belonged on the television show "Lost," and hoping to find a hostel. Once again we deferred to our handy "Lonely Planet" travel book. While we checked out the places they suggested, we eventually saw the wisdom at staying at a place with a pool - something we had originally scoffed at. "Why would you need a pool?!" we asked, "you're right by the ocean!"
Well, as darkness descended upon us around 6 pm (as it does in all of Costa Rica, no matter the season or place) we realized why. The beach was not safe in the dark, but nor was it smart to have 3 sweaty, sticky American twenty-somethings sitting around a hostel that doubled as a sauna. After about an hour of trudging, we finally settled back at where we started (don't worry, we shopped around) at the Manuel Antonio Backpacker's Hostel. It was only $12 a night and included breakfast and had a pool, which we promptly decided to use as soon as all the logistics and settling in were squared away.
The sign out front
View from the front...the bus stop was right in front of it
This was the out door communal kitchen and social area where we made our pancakes in the morning
You needed an awesome wristband to stay there. Though upon later reflection we decided they also served to provide identification if, I dunno, your body washed up on shore or something.
By this time it was around 7 or so, so we figured we'd drop off our backpacks and clothes and head on down to the supermarket to buy our lunch stuff. However, right as we're about to leave the hostel, there's a power outage, and all the power in the entire strip is gone. I've decided I blame Stanley for this. He was, after all, trying to turn the fan higher when the power went out. It is the only logical explanation that it blew the power for the entire town :)
So we haltingly make our way down to the supermarket - made all the creepier by the Lost-esque noises - and thankfully the power comes back on pretty quickly. After loading up on supplies for our typical peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we head back to the hotel, change into swim gear, and then go out for dinner. We go to this little soda run by a guy called Joseph, and he, literally, uses the freshest ingredients. Meaning we ordered and then his little sous chef ran to the super market to buy some of the ingredients he needed. So while the food took a while, it was AMAZING. I ordered a burrito and it was honestly the best burrito I've ever had. And Stanley's burger was probably the best I've had while in Costa Rica, just a step or two below 5 Guys.
However, after this we decided to ignore the half hour rule and just headed down to the pool, which we had to ourselves. After splashing around for about an hour we called it a night, as the next day was going to be the day we ventured into the nature reserve itself.
After an early morning of pancakes and souvenir browsing, we made it to the reserve. It was a little steep to get in, $10, but we had heard the beaches there were brilliant and worth the price. However, it wasn't just the beaches that made it worth it. We were in a genuine rain forest and saw some beautiful things while we were there!
Random shack with a giant bamboo plant behind it
There was also a ton of wildlife! During our walk we saw a bunch of animals and were even able to catch some pictures of a few of them.
Capuchin Monkey, just chilling in the tree. There were a whole bunch of them just swinging around!
The exposure on this is bad, but that lump on the left side of the V is a 3-toed sloth! He moved faster than Planet Earth had led me to believe...
These are my favorite: Squirrel Monkey's!!! They're adorable and they were EVERYWHERE. I thought I'd steal one to take home as a present for Valin, but thought better of it...
There were lizards, everywhere, of every size, shape, and color. This is one that we took a picture of when they were still rare and exciting enough to warrant taking a picture.
Yup, that's a crocodile eating a bird. We were right there, don't even worry about it.
We played on the beach a little bit, not actually getting in the water, but decided we wanted to explore other parts of the reserve, so we hiked up and around. Of course, it hadn't been our plan to hike, but as discovery and adventure was beckoning, we answered its call. Once again, we were covered in sweat within minutes of setting out, but finally ended up on a slightly more secluded beach, just broken off from the main beach by a large rock out cropping. Here we swam for a bit, had lunch, and made a new reptilian friend.
Okay, it might be hard to see him, but this is an iguana that decided he really liked us, or at least our potato chips. Stanley received the bright idea of having us feed him and since we had forbidden him from actually swinging over a cliff with a vine or going down to get a closer shot of the crocodile, we figured we'd give him this one. However, after a few minutes of trying to get the iguana to come close enough to take the potato chip from his hand (as you can tell from the picture, he was really close to us...probably around only 3 to 4 feet away), he decided to drop the chip - and just in time. The iguana bypassed the chip entirely and decided what he really wanted for lunch were some Stanley fingers. Luckily we all escaped unscathed, and just in time too, as the tide was coming in, necessitating us finding a new place to play.
We hiked to another beach on the island and but saw some beautiful things along the way...
View from one of the overlooks on our hike
The isthmus between the two beaches
The beach was even smaller than the one we'd been on before, with some intense rocks on the right side or it. Once again, Stanley and I decided to go off and explore, meaning swimming through the rising tide to climb in the rocks and see how far we get. One thing we didn't count on were the crabs swinging and climbing over the rocks, almost like monkeys in trees. There were so many it looked as though the rocks were moving. I went first, as I was wearing my Chaco's to protect my feet, and Stanley followed behind. While we didn't make it as far as we wanted, we go pretty far before we realized the tide really was coming in, necessitating our fast return to shore. After a few close calls, we were reunited with Jackie, who promptly told us that while we were gone a monkey had come out from the trees, rummaged through our bag, and stolen our potato chips! Sure enough, we checked and the bag was gone!
Jackie on the smaller beach we found
However, upon further discussion and looking at a picture Jackie managed to snap of the culprit, we realized it wasn't a monkey at all, but rather a Coati! From what I heard they're not the easiest animal to spot, but this relative of the raccoon had decided our potato chips were enticing enough to make an appearance.
After this adventure, we decided it was time to head back into the town and possibly check out the local, public beach. Here we snapped a few more pictures and watch the sunset while deciding - using our handy, dandy, Lonely Planet book - where to eat.
The typical and very necessary "foot" picture
Footprints in the sand...
The beach slowly began emptying...
Sunset hidden behind the clouds
Once darkness hit, we found our way to the Hotel Vella, where we had one of our more expensive meals (about $12 a pop), but considering it was fish and steak, it was most definitely worth it. Plus, the place was beautiful and once the rain started pounding we were just glad to be inside!
After taking a cab home, we stopped and got some ice cream for dessert, upon which we realized somehow Jackie had lost her bikini top. Yeah, we don't know either. But we were excited for the next day when Stanley and I would head to church and then spend our last few hours at the beach.
After another breakfast of pancakes, Stanley and I headed to where we were told the local branch would be meeting. We got there fine. The branch was small, 25 members at most, and the meeting was all in Spanish, but it was great just to be there and sing the (somewhat) familiar songs and attend sacrament meeting again.
So while getting there hadn't been too difficult, getting back to our hostel to check out and meet up with Jackie proved more problematic. Where the bus dropped us off was not the bus stop for our hostel, but rather the pick-up spot for another bus. So, once again, we had many kind strangers/spirit guides help us find the bus back to our hostel so we were able to pack up and check out in time so we could head down to the beach for a few hours before having to catch our bus.
This time, instead of paying to get into Manuel Antonio, we just chose to play around on the public beach. After renting some chairs and an umbrella, we were ready to go!
Pre-swim Stanley and Jackie
View from our beach chairs
We split our time between drying out and swimming amongst the crashing, salty waves, but eventually time passed too quickly and we found ourselves, 3 hours after arriving, having to head back up to our hostel so we could shower, eat and catch the bus back to San Jose and real life.
Post-swim picture. Look how relaxed and happy we all are!
The strip by the public beach
Safety first!
After sneaking back into our hostel to shower (we thought we'd do a service to the rest of the humans and not smell like beach and dead animal on the bus ride home) we grabbed one more bite to eat in paradise before we had to head back to loud, hectic San Jose. We decided that to repay the hostel for letting us illegally bum their showers we would eat at their restaurant. The food was mediocre, but we had some fun at least.
I feel like this is a good summation of our friendship...
But after that, it was time to board the bus for the 3 hour ride back into the city. So it was with one last fleeting look at the beauty around us that we wished Manuel Antonio good-bye and loaded the bus, backpacks in tow...
View from our hostel
Until next post, when I talk about last weekends trip to Arenal!
Toodles!
-Jillian
1 comment:
nice read
Post a Comment