Three Monkey's, a couple of Sloths, and a special suprise!

---

As we were going to stick around in both Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park for 4 nights, we decided to get a half decent place to stay that was in-between the two of them (they are about 7km apart from each other). Mimos Hotel was where we had pre-booked to go, and when asked in the reservation form if we had any special requests, we noted that we would love a balcony and a view of the sea if it was at all possible. What we didn’t realise until our reservation email was replied to, was that Mimo’s didn’t have a sea view! Not only was it about a kilometre from the sea, but there was also half a rainforest in front of the hotel stopping us from admiring the sea vista as well! This was of course my mistake, however when the hotel replied, they apologised for not having a sea view, and asked if a junior suite would suffice? (for the same money) Well, considering this was purely just a blond moment from me, we of course took the upgrade, and rejoiced that I was such a doughnut!

When entering the room for the first time, we were really pleased with the choice (the upgrade helped too!) It was a pretty big room with an additional annex that had a fridge and microwave etc. It was like a mini apartment, so we decided to stock up on essentials: cereals, lunch and a good few cold Imperial cerveza’s. We then went to go feed ourselves in a local restaurant.

I should mention that the day we arrived, it was of course raining as we had been warned, however we decided that a day in Manuel Antonio National Park the following day would be had no matter what, and kept our fingers crossed for unlikely Sun!

As I awoke the next morning I laid perfectly still in order to hear what was going on outside…..nothing. I couldn’t hear anything. This could only mean one thing….it had stopped raining! Or had it?

I jumped up out of bed to make sure my ears were not deceiving me, and went over to the window. Donna asked begrudgingly for an update on the weather, only to be told ‘The Sun’s only bloody out aint it!!’ Result! Rain had followed us around for about 5 days straight, and on the day we wanted to go to the park, we got a rest bite. What a stroke of luck!

We caught the bus down to Manuel Antonio village, and got off just at the entrance to the park. The moment we disembarked the bus, we were jumped on (not literally) by a guy asking us if we needed a tour guide. We of course did, as we had been told we would be lucky to see a quarter of the wildlife in the park if we didn’t get one however was this guy a proper guide? Turns out that after a flash of his badge, plus a glance at his ‘Manuel Antonio national Park Official Tour Guide’ T-shirt, we took him as genuine, and we agreed to let him take us round the park. Before we headed to the park however he had a little something to show us in his mini telescope in a tree on the side of the road…. It was a three toed Sloth! Not the sort of thing you would assume would just be hanging around (literally) on the side of the road! We had never seen a sloth before, not even in a zoo, so this was amazing. Our first glimpse of Wildlife at the park and we hadn’t even made it to the entrance yet! This was going to be awesome!

From the beginning, and all the way round the park, the guide was pointing out all sorts of stuff, stopping along the way to set up his telescope, allowing us to take a closer look. There was just so much wildlife to see, half of which we never would have seen if it wasn’t for the razor sharp reactions and eyes of a hawk of the guide. There were racoons, crickets, moths, butterflies, deer, and three different types of monkeys (white faced monkeys, Howler Monkeys, and Squirrel Monkeys), all of which we were lucky to see! We also managed to see both kinds of Sloth that were in the park (two toed and three toed) This place was unlike anywhere we had been before in order to see Wildlife in it’s natural habitat. Plus, even when there were no animals to look at (which wasn’t too often), the guide was really informative on other stuff in the park such as the Flora and Fauna and their special qualities, i.e. which ones could poison you if you so much as touched them.

To top all of this off, there are three amazing beaches that are all within the park, and therefore protected, that are just beautiful. After the tour guide left us, Donna and I wandered round for a while more, and trekked all of the trails that are within the park, taking in all of the views and sights as well as trying to spot more wildlife. This did prove difficult without the guide, however just when we were all but out of hope, three white faced Monkeys came swinging their way towards us! We stood deadly still, and waited for them to hopefully come our way, which to our surprise, they did…right in front of us. It really was quite a spectacle, and we were quite lucky to see these amazing creatures so close up in their natural home.

After completing the rest of the treks around the park, we cooled off in the water at one of the beaches, which were now practically empty as it was close to chucking out time at the park. It was really refreshing, and a great way to end a fantastic day.

The next thing on our list to do here was White Water Rafting. This was something Donna was looking forward to especially. The day we decided to do the rafting it was of course back to rain, however as we found out, this is the best possible weather for rafting, as the water levels were at their peak, and the rapids were flowing with some real venom.

The trip took us to the Savegre river. This happened to be the home of the guides that took the tour, so they knew their stuff about the river, and had grown up Kayaking, and rafting down this very stretch of water. All the way up, the guys were pointing out all sorts of things relating to the landscape, as well as pointing out the various businesses that were local to the area. They were also picking all manner of plant leaves, and branches from the fauna around the area for us to sniff and rub on our hands etc. for different smells and what not, and were really informative, friendly blokes.

Once we had finally arrived at the top of the winding bends up the mountain, we got into our gear and had a brief safety talk about the rafting. It was then time to go. It really was a pretty awesome experience, as, unlike other rafting we had ever done, there was literally no one about except the 4 of us on this trip, the guides and driver. Then we were straight into the river and away downstream. When the guides advised us that the rapids were good today, they weren’t lying for effect! We were flying down the river at a crazy speed, and when we got into rapids the waves were so big that the whole boat was nearly underwater at times! Being at the front first, I took a huge hit from the first rapid, and with my foot not being totally secured in the front I managed to fall in straight away! (for the guys who came to the rafting in Lee Valley, this one wasn’t on purpose!!), I was however rescued straight away, and I took the punishment of having to buy the first round for being the first to fall in the water!

I’m glad to say that after this, there were no more men/women overboard, and the trip continued to be an amazing ride, with a fantastic setting. The view was probably even more idyllic in the peeing rain funnily enough, as the low lying cloud in the surrounding mountains gave it a real eerie feel, especially as we were the only ones around for miles.

Now, for those of you that have been following the blog, you will know that there was a certain obsession of mine that never came to fruition. A certain Toucan that was becoming almost just a myth and to which, although still desperate to see one, I had almost given up hope of ever seeing. Well, fear no more, as on this fantastic trip of WW Rafting, whilst stopping for lunch on the side of the river, the guide suddenly looked up high in the trees and said a word that I had been waiting to hear for nearly 6 weeks now….‘Toucan’. Donna and I both chucked down the paddles, and waded through the shallow waters of the riverbank to get a glimpse (Donna had also become…intrigued if not completely obsessed with the Toucan also now) and low and behold, there it was! A thing of absolute beauty high in the tree top. Unfortunately, the camera was held up in the dry bag, and we couldn’t get to it in time, but it was there all the same, and we could finally rest in the knowledge that a Toucan had finally been spotted!

Lunch was then spent literally half way inside a waterfall which wasn’t the most conventional place for a bite to eat, however it was different! After this, we carried on down the river to the bottom of the mountain, where we was picked up by our driver. Absolutely brilliant trip, and for those going to Manual Antonio and like rafting ‘Friends of the River’ is highly recommended (the office is halfway between Quepos and Man. Antonio on the main road).

Anyway, this blog has gone on way too long…. so to surmise, we really enjoyed ourselves in Manual Antonio, despite the rain, and really came to love Costa Rica, with its amazing wildlife, beaches, and beautiful landscapes. But it was time to once again head back to San Jose in order to get another stupidly long bus journey to Panama City, Panama, our last country of Central America.

Pura Vida!

---

Comments

[Wendy Jupp]

How fantastic to hear all your news it all looked absolutly wonderful the photos are amazing, I didn\'t expect a sloth to look like, that I was surprised. Take care and carry on enjoying your travels lots of love and hugs mum.XXXXX