Blogs from Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 18

We dragged ourselves out of bed to catch the 7am bus to Quepos... we weren't the only ones with the same idea and so all of the seats were full and we ended up standing up for the first two hours while the bus crawled through the narrow twisting roads out to the pacific side of Costa Rica. Once we reached Dominical, a few people unloaded and we scored some seats. Which was a good thing, since next three hours were not the most pleasant - the bus was absolutely cooking as it crawled along the dirt road, dodging pot-holes and halting to pick people up every 100 metres or so. At one point it drove through a river where the bridge was being repaired. Finally we reached Quepos and Trish was not feeling too good. ... read more

Things have been AMAZING here in Costa Rica. The week in San Jose went well. Me, Tamara, Cathy, Pablo, his brother and girlfriend are going to Daddy Yankee on June 8th! We got VIP tickets and I´m so excited! This past weekend we went to Manuel Antonio and it was so much fun. We arrived Friday around noon and swam at the beach and pool all day. One of the coolest things happened, when we were sitting at the pool drinking, a monkey was jumping around the trees right next to the tree. It was the first time I had seen a monkey in its own habitat and not in a zoo or park. That night we went to eat at El Avion and everyone left but me, Katie, Christie and Bob. We stayed behind and ... read more

Saturday 15th - Wednesday 19th Just a brief run down as i'm on the clock! Will fill in more details soon! Saturday - long day of travelling to San Jose, Costa Rica. Just chilled at a hostel. Sunday - Met up with my cousin Jon and we got a tiny but colourful plane to Manuel Antonio near Quepos on the south west coast of Costa Rica. Afternoon was spent in the sea and watching the sun set followed by a great meal of Wasabi and Mahi Mahi (fish! i usually hate it!) and drinks at a local bar listening to some very cheesy classic rock! Monday - Got the bus down the road and then walked to a very secluded beach area where I did some fantastic snorkling. I was hovering round the coast area but ... read more

Once more, conveniece trumped economy. The trip from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio would take a long day on the public buses, with the added disadvantage of getting connected in San Jose itself. The alternative - a prearranged shuttle. For $21 each we were picked up at Arenal Lodge (saving lots of time and several bucks in taxi getting from there to the bus stop at La Fortuna) and driven door-to-door in air-conditioned comfort to our hotel in Manuel Antonio. With the extra time at the beach and the prevented wear-and-tear on old joints, it would have been worth twice the price. Reserva Manuel Antonio is a fairly small park, but with its amazing beaches and rainforest, with its familiar Cappuchin monkeys and ubiquitous iguanas... it is one of the most visited places in Costa Rica. ... read more

To our blog faithful (Especially Faith), I must apologize for letting Elise get hold of the keyboard for the previous post. Know that she means well, and when it comes to organizing a trip and keeping us within budget she's the "Go To Teeth," but when it's time to keep our friends and fam in the loop, I'll handle those duties. Manuel Antonio We spent a week just outside the beautiful environs of Manuel Antonio National Park and the small town of Quepos. Our days were spent alternately at the national park which has rain forest and beaches all wrapped up into one neat little monkey-filled package, and at our hotel's pool which was very nice and virtually deserted... Many Costa Ricans that we spoke with lamented over the lack of tourism this year versus years ... read more