http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Central America Caribbean , Costa Rica , Puntarenas , Manuel Antonio en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:48:58 BST Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:48:58 BST Manuel Antonio is the smallest national park but the most famous in Costa Rica for its abundance of wildlife unspoiled beaches and crocodileshellipbut more about that later. Driving across Costa Rica to get there was thankfully not too bad a journey as the road was actually paved for most of the way You would not believe what a small miracle that actually is. Checking into our hotel obviously http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-302959.html Even more pictures. Weekend number two we did more than just relax on the beach. Saturday we bussed to Manual Antonio and checked out the national park. We ended up taking a guided tour through the rain forest part and it was worth every penny. He had a telescope that he set up and then you could use your digital camera to take pictures through the telescopic lense. So we got some a http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-278728.html After a few days in Manual Antonio we are ready to move on. We have had some good days of surf got out on a catamaran and did some snorkeling and enjoyed the great beaches and nature here. Tomorrow a.m. we are heading to Montezuma on our way to Mal Pais which is in the northwestern province of Guancaste. We are going to check out the surf there and do some exploring as well. Have a look at http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-272993.html The boys were so excited to learn that one of their best friends from home Peter and his parents were going to leave the cold weather in St Paul and come down for a weeklong visit during the first week of April. Unfortunately their trip coincided with the first trimester's midterms. So the boys buckled down and studied early so that they could play with Peter when he arrived This included http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-272804.html Took the bus south this morning as far as Manuel Antonio and this is as far as we are going at this point. We found a great hostel the waves are perfect for us and the area and people are pretty amazing. After we got into Quepos we took a bus straight to Manuel Antonio and went for a tour in the park. The park is a beautiful steaming hot rainforest which is full of all sorts of characters http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-271654.html Upon our return from the journey to the Caribbean coast we started exploring our opportunities back in Canada. According to my leave agreement it was necessary to indicate my intentions to return or not by the 15th of March. I had already contacted my buddy in human resources to find out what might be available and Nataghia was exploring her opportunities as well. As it turned out my opportunities http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-264128.html We woke up ready to start our vacation. We went into Quepos to get some food and check out the town. We ate at Cafe Milagro and had the best breakfast that we have ever had. After some shopping we went back to our hotel to get ready for the beach. It was the first time I have ever been to the ocean and I had a great time. After Christina and I got some good sunrays we rented some boogie boards in http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/Costa-Rica/blog-257833.html Once we made to San Jose we had the task of getting to Manuel Antonio. It took us forever to get out of customs and we had to catch a cab to the bus station. We met this nice man who took us there we barely made it alive. The traffic was horrible Rush Hour and there were motorcycles that flew in between the cars. Over here a blinker means nothing if you want to get over you have to make some m http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/Costa-Rica/blog-257827.html If you are not a regular diver it can be a little difficult trying to identify what exactly you are looking at when you go diving. For example what was that big blue fish that went past and why exactly is that red fish hiding in a hole This past weekend we thought wersquod try and solve some of those problems and encouraged a few of the local divers to take a fish id class. For our first speci http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-257127.html Hitting the open road on my own Friday 23 to Saturday 24 de FebreroI had spent lots of time traveling with peers or with family friends around Costa Rica but I knew it was time to discover some of the country for myself. I chose Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio because I had heard that it was basically an incredibly beautiful park that has been turned into one of the top five tourist spots in http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-251140.html Manuel Antonioum 415 qulen wir uns aus unseren Betten kaufen Frhstck und dsen mit dem Bus in Richtung Parzifikkste weiter. In Puntarenas mssen wir umsteigen und berbrcken die einstndige Wartepause mit einem netten Brunch bestehend aus Fisch und Schrimps.Beim Ticketkauf fr den Bus nach Manuel Antonio bekommt Lukas einen Zettel mit der Warnung genau auf dieser Busstrecke sein Handgep http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-250614.html I'm writing this from a different perspective as I unfortunately did not get to play in the latest escapade of Oceans Unlimited due to a recent mishap with a sharp object say no more However I did get to witness the fun that was had by everyother person while I'm hobbling around on crutches.....much to the amusement of others This port cleanup was organized by our ever industrious Kath strivi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-250065.html Busy busy busy at the shop. As well as trying to keep up with all the clients coming in they keep moving the fan which means that my main daily snooze keeps getting interrupted. This week was very environmentally active with a port cleanup. With teh help of budding volunteers we managed to get some good sack loads of stuff from underwater. mostly fishing line but it feels good to know that we'r http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-250032.html Hola this is Sam. Since my brother Kyle got to do a blog entry I wanted to do one too. So I am writing about our trip to Manuel Antonio a few weeks ago. First we had to take a long car ride. This included driving over a really old bridge that swayed when we went over it. Even though Mom and her friend Robyn were a little scared I thought it was cool. Then we stopped at a river where th http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-247206.html I was at a loose end at the dive shop a student having left me hight and dry as I pondered between surfing the web and getting wet... I spotted a Project AWARE coral watch slate and decided to head to the water. There was a local dive trip going out so I grabbed my gear and headed to the boat. As we left port I listened to the other divers in the group swapping dive tales of Manta Rays and BIG http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/Costa-Rica/blog-240737.html Night divinghelliphmmmm something I have been postponing for about 2 years. On a recent stint in the states I did a couple but to be honest they were more like dusk dives. Its not that I dislike the diving at night its more the trips out at night and the whole washing of equipment afterwards and breaking stuff down. I always said that if I could snap my fingers and be in the water and then sna http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-238758.html Diving is something that you must have a passion for to be a successful instructor. You have to be able to pass that drive and passion on to your students so that they can take the most away from their course. I have been teaching now for 4 years and I still enjoy every moment in the water and sharing with people my passion. After all that though Irsquom not saying that the job is not difficult. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-238756.html Living in Central America for the past 4 years has certainly had its ups and downs. I would definitely have to say though more ups than downs. Right now we are residing in Manuel Antonio Costa Rica in a apartment surrounded by trees and monkeys which is pretty nice. Damien came into our lives just over a year ago and recently took the very honourable position of official Dive shop dog. It was d http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-238750.html The sun was a massive orange ball on the horizon as we headed out of the port we waved to the the tipsy merry makers on their sunset cruises heading abck to land.Meanwhile our little merry band of flash light welding thrill seekers headed out of port all very sober but with the adrenaline rush of a night dive ahead.We all excitedly got ready I breifed a couple of first time night divers whilst h http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-237765.html A couple days I was diving with Trudie an Open Water student at the Aquarium just off the coast fo the Manuel Antonio National Park. We were nearing the end of our dive and I noticed out the corner of my eye an unusual movement on the sea bed. It looked like a sizable rock about a foot in diameter was moving up and down. I got closer and peered underneath the rock and there was a mesh of legs an http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/Costa-Rica/blog-234133.html Costa Rica famous for sportfishing and diving in coco island. Recently it came to us via various fisherman news of an offshore pinnacle. Finally i got a couple of friends together got a boat and headed out there. 26 miles offshore. At a depth of 95ft at its shallowest point surrounded by sand at a depth of 130 140 ft veinteseis is no easy dive. We loaded up with ponies and dropped anchor. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-233762.html Day 8. High humidity.Bottled water and sun block in hand we load up the bus and head south to Manuel Antonio National Park one of Costa Ricarsquos better known beaches. The drive over is an adventure in itself. Roads are narrow and pockmarked. As we drive over onelane bridges the wooden beds bounce and shudder.As some tour members settle on the beach a few of us take off for a hike thru http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-229904.html Hola Una cosa esta clara LO FUERTE DE COSTA RICA NO SON LAS CARRETERAS Y lo decimos porque para dejar Monteverde y dirigirnos hacia Manuel Antonio tuvimos que sufrir de nuevo el mismo tipo de camino de cabras que a la ida. Ademas justo antes de llegar a nuestro destino nos topamos con un puente en construccion. Que como pasamos Bueno la solucion que aqui toman es sencilla. Cierran el pu http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-214966.html Ja saa er vi kommet til lidt varmere temperaturer. Mindst 5 10 grader saa selv farmand har ikke vaeret i de lange bukser siden ankomsten til Costa Rica. Ae oe og aa maa I dog stadig have til gode.Turen hertil var ellers lidt spaendende. P.g.a. voldsomt regnvejr var lufthavnen i San Jose lukket og vi maatte have en mellemlanding i El Salvador inden vi fire timer forsinket naaede frem.Costa Ro http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-213482.html 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 redeye 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 hel http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-212395.html We woke up fairly early today so that we could spend a little more time in Manuel Antonio before we had to leave to Alajuela. As we were getting ready to go upstairs to have another wonderful breakfast the obnoxious girl next door comes back and is screaming ldquoBuenos Diasrdquo into our room with probably the worst accent I have ever heard. You can imagine we got out of there really qu http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-198436.html We woke up a couple times during the night because there was an insane rainforest thunder storm beating down on us. Extremely loud thunder pouring rain really close lightening and all that jazz. It continued on trough the early morning so we decided to sleep in a bit more because the park would have been muddy and difficult to trek through if we had arrived there at the initial time we were http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-198434.html After a ldquocrazyrdquo night on the town we woke up to the beating rain of an insane thunder storm so much for our hike. We decided to sleep in instead of trekking through the rain to see crocodiles and turtles. I was pretty sad about the turtles because we havenrsquot seen one yet. We finally got a full nights rest thanks to that lovely storm. When we eventually got out of bed it wa http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-198102.html