La Costa Pobre

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So much for a romantic getaway where you forget all your problems and just relax. Yesterday was one of the most harrowing days of both our lives. After having to kill three hours in an LAX terminal that had all services closed, a very long 5 hour red-eye, a completely and unnecessary cab ride and another three hour wait in the Coca Cola bus station, which looks like parts of LA (if LA was in hell), we finally boarded our bus for Manuel Antonio thinking all of our tribulations were behind us.

However, Costa Rica's highway 1 had other ideas. Our supposed three-hour bus ride stretched out to nearly five because of rain swept road and cars in front of us breaking down multiple times. When we got to the town of Quepos, just a few miles from our destination, a bus in front of us broke down on a steep curve and blocked the road. Our driver told us, in Spanish that I barely understood, that we had to hop onto another smaller bus right behind us that could make the turn. So we ran down the road confused, and freaked out, bags in hand and got on the other buys which then dropped us in Manuel Antonio. By the time we had given up on finding our hotel alone and taken a cab to our B&B that Sarah and John recommended, we had a solid 25 hours of travel behind us.

This is where I tell you all how I would have gone through 100 hours to get here. Our room is this adorable little casita with an unbelievable view of the ocean. The hotel is run by the sweetest little woman named Elana who kindly overlooks our terrible Spanish to offer a never ending stream of advice. We were so tired when we got in last night we didn't appreciate what we had found for ourselves. When we awoke this morning, it was to the sounds of monkeys, yes freaking monkeys, climbing around the trees outside our window. We watched them play around for a while then made our way down the hill to one of the most awe-inspiring beaches I've ever seen. This place has all of the beauty of Hawaii without the veneer of sun-burnt self important rich yuppy douchebags "no offense Alain." Everything is dirt cheap from food, water, housing, ect. We went to this town's main attraction, Manuel Antonio national park, which is this big loop that takes you through a long stretch of rainforest and past more unbelievable beaches. We saw a coatamundi open up someone's backpack and steal a bag of chips, a monkey hanging out not 2 meters (that's 6 feet gringos) away, and i even found a patch of fire ants (on my foot, puta madre!).

So a gnarly start has melted away into an incredible time. Tomorrow brings a trip up the coast that will end us up in Montezuma on Saturday. We hate to leave, because Manuel Antonio has shown us so much both aesthetically and internally, but Costa Rica has an endless array of exotic locales, each more spectacular than the last. While this is just the beginning of our odyssey, we have already gone so far and promise to share our adventures with you as frequently as we can. Pura Vida!

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Photos

Airport
Jenny stoked to wait in the airport another couple hours

Beach
On the way down to the beach, taken by a pair of random Minnesotans

Beach
Mike climb rock

Coatamundi
This is that sneaky Coatamundi we told you about

Monkey
Seriously, freaking monkeys

Deer
"Why is there a deer in Costa Rica, are here to tell me I'm a princess and need to get a key from a giant frog's mouth?"

monkey
Monkey jumping from tree to tree outside of our room

Monkey
This monkey love the view from our room too

Comments

[Kelly Vasant]

haha u guys are so cute
mike, too bad u totally don't know who i am.....i'm one of jenny's good friends from ttown....your guys' entries are so cute! and poss, OMG PLEASE WASH UR FEET! oh hell, a year without a pedicure, poss? that's definitely the FIRST thing i'm treating you to when u get back! :) i'm glad you guys finally made it out there safe.......enjoy yourselves!!!! :):) and sometimes monkeys can be really mean......they love to steal ur food so watch out! :) love u poss!!!

[Schultz]

feet
HAHA well, glad to hear that you made it there....love the pic of Jenny's feet!!!!

[Yum]

I think I love Jenny's pictures the best, even more than those of the monkeys. Haha! Costa Rica looks and sounds amazing so far. Keep up with the great pics!