Leaving Carrillo beach was difficult for the clean, clear, medusa-free water (so we were told), and far enough away from the resident crocodiles in the mangroves to not bother us and the few others there we encountered. Alex, our trusty driver from our Rincon de la Vieja transfer, was efficient in his arrival at 2pm, and in Spanish we conversed over the 6 hours or so it took to reach Manuel Antonio. But for the countless trucks (camiones) on the road carting local rock for shipping from the Caribbean coast, and with several slow patches of driving later until Tarcoles, eventually the scenery gave way to increasingly dense rainforest and a rich red Pacific coast sunset. Dark and feeling tired, we rolled into our wonderful abode, Hotel Villas Lirio, by 8pm and behold, it had two
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