Parque Manuel Antonio

Trip Start Apr 06, 2008
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Trip End May 10, 2008


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Where I stayed
Hotel Del Malinche

Flag of Costa Rica  ,
Monday, April 21, 2008

This weekend I finally had an opportunity to explore Costa Rica's natural wonders.  After work on Friday morning, my fellow volunteers and I piled into a van and headed to Parque Manuel Antonio--a national park that is know for its abundant flora and fauna, as well as fabulous beaches.  The drive was beautiful, as it took us through the mountains of Costa Rica, and then along the Pacific Coast.  The only part of the drive that was a bit difficult to stomach was when the van had to cross a myriad of tiny bridges in order to get across one of Costa Rica's many rivers.  The bridges do not look particularly sturdy to the untrained eye (God only knows how they appear to the trained eye), and were extremely narrow--so narrow that vehicle can cross in only one direction at a time.  Thus, sometimes we had to wait 10 minutes or more until we had an opportunity to cross the river.  Other than that, the drive was pretty uneventful, with the exception of a brief detour we took to look at a river full of crocodiles.  There were more than twenty crocodiles sunning themselves on a river bank, and it was a pretty spectacular site
Chris Kicking Back
Chris Kicking Back
.  It was also a bit scary, because most of them looked like logs--it would be very difficult to tell if something in a river was a log or a crocodile. 

We finally arrived in the town of Quepos, which is just a few kilometers away from Manuel Antonio.  We walked around town a bit and then headed off to a wonderful dinner of seafood and exotic drinks at this restaurant called El Patio del Cafe Milagro.   Quepos was a pretty touristy town, but still had some appeal.  We all met early the next morning and headed to the park where we hired a guide named Leo to take us on a tour.  Leo was well-versed in the life of the park and an excellent guide.  While on the tour, we learned about the plants (both indigenous and not), and also saw a number of different types of lizards, monkeys, bats and sloths.  The only down-side of the tour was that it was brutally hot if there was no shade.  As it was that hot at 9:00 a.m., I could only imagine how hot it would be later in the afternoon.  After the tour, we stayed in the park and whiled away the rest of the afternoon at one of Manuel Antonio's beautiful beaches, to Hanna's (our 8 year-old volunteer) glee.  The whole time, we had to keep an eye out for Capuchin monkeys, which have apparently learned how to open back-packs and will steal food and shiny objects.  

After returning to our hotel, we showered and changed and went to enjoy the sunset and another fine meal at a restaurant called Ronny's Place
Our Hotel
Our Hotel
.  Afterward, some of us headed out to have a few drinks at a bar/restaurant known as El Avion, or "The Airplane."  This restaurant was actually made out of an old cargo airplane, and was pretty cool.  Even more interesting, is that the airplane was one of two cargo airplanes used by CIA operatives to ferry ammunition and supplies to the Contras in Nicaragua.  Indeed, it was the sister plane to the one that was shot down in Nicaragua, sparking the investigation into what would become known as the Iran-Contra affair.  How someone came up with the idea of converting it into a restaurant is beyond me, but it was pretty cool. 

On Sunday, we again spent the morning on a beach in Manuel Antonio, and then headed back to Puriscal.  As our drive coincided with the sunset over both the ocean and the mountains, the views were spectacular.  Another great weekend here in Costa Rica.  Except for one tiny thing.  Everywhere I have been in Costa Rica, including Playa del Coco, Puriscal, San Jose and Quepos, there is cheesy 80s American music playing.  Everywhere.  Since I have been here, I have heard various Journey songs on numerous occasions, Girls Wanna Have Fun, Total Eclipse of the Heart, and others that I can't even remember.  Although it's not technically an 80s song, I have even heard Ace of Base's "I Saw the Sign."  And the funny part is, the songs will be interspersed in the middle of Spanish music and then pop out of nowhere.  Even more fascinating is that, contrary to my initial belief, the songs are not   being played to cater to Americans.  In fact, I learned from the teacher at the community college that she and many of her fellow Costa Ricans love 80s music.  So, apparently, Costa Rica is where 80s music doesn't go to die, but instead is where the cheesy bubble-gum sounds of 80s music goes to live on happily forever and forever...
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Comments

alyon1
alyon1 on

ok I am terrified of crocodiles
weren't you frightned on those little bridges about getting eaten?
It looks amazingly beautiful though.
We miss youa round here.
Andrea

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