el fin de semana en Manuel Antonio

I know several of us have already posted about our weekend adventure to Manuel Antonio, but I wanted to add a few details.

Manuel Antonio was like stepping into another country entirely. I guess t could be compared to going from Kentucky to Florida, but within the span of a 2 hour drive. San Isidro is a mountain town outside San Jose where ELEC is located and at times it is cold. Although its usually 80 degrees during the day by 3 pm the wind starts to blow and you are chilled to the bone and need a sweater and pants. With that in mind I did not pack appropriately (not enough warm clothes), but at the same time its too warm during the day to wear said warm clothes. Manuel Antonio was much warmer and had the climate that I expected Costa Rica to have. It felt wonderful, and while it was extremely warm there was always a nice trade wind coming from the ocean all day. Even the wildlife changes as you get closer to the national park. On our way to the beach we stopped at a river that contained several large crocodiles, they were gigantic.Within 30 minutes of the park we saw several red macaws just perched in trees near the road. They were beautiful birds sitting in couples up in the trees near the road. It was so strange to think this exotic bird to the locals would be like a robin to us. Just an everyday reality of living in a tropical well preserved environment. Once we reached the hotel we immediately headed to beach where I enjoyed a day in the sun to relax and even purchased a $15 massage on the beach. The one negative about the area is that every establishment charges a great deal from food to souvenirs. For example, one night I ordered garlic shrimp, which at Havana Rumba would have been around $14 to $15. Here in Manuel Antonio it was $23, which included a 23% service and gratuity charge.

The next morning we awoke at 6:30 am and were immediately greeted by Percy, our guide with his scope pointed up at the palm leaves at our hotel. I looked up at the leaves and saw a hundreds of bats grouped into balls sleeping under the shade of the palm leaves. They were brown long nosed bats and looked like small badgers hanging upside down in the trees due to the white markings on their heads. We then began our walk into the actual park, which was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel. Upon entering the park we were greeted by a troop of howler monkeys. I was extremely excited by the sight, but was also somewhat disappointed. When I was in college I took a biology course in Belize for 2 weeks and one day we had gone on a hike in search for howler monkeys. After an hour hike to the forest where they lived, our group fought our way into the forest overgrowth using a machete. It was extremely hot and humid and within 15 minutes I had no water left in my body because I had sweated so much. We cut through the forest for 2 hours looking for howler monkeys and never saw one. Now here I am in Costa Rica and there are 5 sitting right in the front of the park making their howler monkey sounds. There was no 2 hours trekking through the forest because they were right there. After we passed the front entrance we continued further into the national park. We were again greeted by several three toed sloths, amazing blue butterflies (that are impossible to get a photo of), and white faced monkeys!! It was an amazing beach with amazing wildlife and everything I expected from Costa Rica. If you someday hope to visit Manuel Antonio I would recommend you pack your lunch because there is no where to eat in the park. If you pack your lunch keep it locked up or have someone watch it at all times because the raccoons will come out of the jungle, open your bag and steal your lunch. You also need to be ready to get to the park early, because it closes at 3:30 pm.


Overall it was an amazing trip and I hope that I have a chance to return one day.