The journey began with a taxi ride through downtown San Jose dodging cars, and people and stray dogs, to a not so great bus terminal where there were definitely some interesting characters! Equipped with dramamine, snacks, water and a backpack full of clothes and other essentials, like a Laptop with WiFi capabilities, Meike and I set out for a 6hr bus ride to Manuel Antonio. Although we couldn’t see virtually anything because it was so dark, it perhaps was a good thing, as we crossed some old bridges where the bus nearly scraped the edges and loud noises of boards busting beneath us could be heard even with my iPod on! But whew!, we made it across!
Upon arrival in Manuel Antonio, our bus driver dropped us off at the street where our hotel was supposedly right around the corner. Well, after about 30 minutes of hiking through the jungle at 11pm, sweating our asses off in about 100% humidity conditions, we decided it was best to knock on one of the bed and breakfast doors we had passed on our trek! All the guard kept saying was how dangerous it is where we were walking --- as apparently there were more than just scary tropical animals in the jungle at night! So, the nice man hailed a passing car, and we hitched a ride to our hotel, which by the way was about another 4km up the road! It was so nice to have warm showers and toilets where you could flush the toilet paper! Saturday began with a decadent, or maybe it just seemed like that after a week of starving, breakfast, and a hike through the jungle.. this time, an intentional hike through the jungle! We saw exotic flowers, birds, mean-looking iguanas, and even a family of howler monkeys! It was so humid, that it took my camera about 10 minutes to adjust to the air. The lens kept fogging up, and I couldn’t get any good pictures. But finally the camera came through, and we got some great snaps!
After a piña colada revival, my friend Meike and I set out for another trek down to the beach. The hotel told us it was 200 meters away. Um, well after a 200 meter walk down a steep hill, we reached the entrance to another jungle, where the beach was about 2km away from there. Glad we had flipflops and our cameras with us! Haha…. We trudged through, and came out to a beautiful secluded little beach, complete with roosters, chickens, what looked like a shipwrecked rowboat, and even some locals. Despite the chickens running around, it was a beautiful sight – although, I can’t say the same for me!
Dinner that night… aye, que rico!! Fresh fish, good wine, and awesome chocolate cake!! Buen provecho Lauren! On the way back from Manuel Antonio, we passed through some of the most beautiful countryside. Rainforests, ocean views, serene mountain views, and several plantations. It was a good escape from the city for a weekend.
1 comment:
LOVE the blogging, and love Costa Rica :-) If you were still working at B you could've won $1K in the blogging contest, but rest assured you have more to talk about where you are - ENJOY!
Post a Comment