coast of costa

lingering parasailers in the fading light

our next destination was manuel antonio - another shuttle bus. this time it was back down the mountain and towards the southern coast. it was a longer drive so we made it there by late afternoon. our hotel was a series of buildings along the top of a hill, each room with its own anteroom open to the air with a lovely view of the pacific and a hammock to enjoy it in. we didn't have much of the day left but figured we couldn't go wrong with a trip down to the beach. we figured out the bus system - oddly the first time we'd used public transportation - and within a few minutes we were facing playa espadilla. we walked around, dipped our feet in the water, usual beach things.

don't be afraid

i still think it's so odd that we were in the pacific ocean and along the same longitude as georgia. eventually the sun began to go down - and it was a beauty. we watched people parasailing right up until the very last light of the sun glimmered from behind the rocks. as i was exploring i found a porous rock covered in holes and, more likely, thousands of little shells. it was glowing golden in the evening light and then i discovered little things scurrying all over it - tiny little crabs. they were understandably skittish but i managed to snap a few pictures of them anyway. it's amazing; if you look at something long and closely enough - a rock, a tree, a plant - you can usually find something pretty amazing.

finally the sun was really down and my mother dragged me away from the beach (although the view of the silhouetted palm trees at the bus stop wasn't bad either) and we headed back up the big hill. we stopped at a seafood (what else) restaurant not far from our hotel - apparently they had just opened that week. we had a very tasty meal of yellowfin tuna and shrimp before making it back to our hotel.

just hanging around

the next day was the highly anticipated visit to manuel antonio national park. we'd heard so much about it and had high hopes. it was just.. underwhelming. first, it was full of people who were all shuffling around the same dirt path, trying to crowd around their guide's telescope to see the insect or sleeping bat they've pointed out (oh goody). and our guide seemed pretty disinterested, pointing out things he knew were there because they'd probably been sleeping for hours and generally just interested in moving us along. we saw a grasshopper, some bats, raccoons (exotic) and a sleeping sloth that was really no more than a ball of matted fur. after hearing from another couple that they saw a mother and baby sloth hanging on a fencepost we were just dying with jealousy. i suppose it was not to be. at the end of our - very short, i might add - hike through the park we were deposited on the beach where we saw a very adventurous group of monkeys.

come on in, the water's fine

we had planned to make an afternoon of it, or a morning, at any rate. we changed in the tiny bathrooms (back up the hill) and made our way back down to the shore. the actual beach was quite small and full of white hot sand. we were concerned about leaving all our things unattended but in the end we figured taking turns in the water was no fun so we hid our stuff and resolved to keep an eye on it from the ocean. and it was lovely. no waves, of course, but perfectly warm water. eventually, though, hunger won out and we made our way back towards the other playa. we realized that if we walked behind the beach to the other shore and continued on around we could reach the edge of the beach we were at the day before. okay, i'm sure that didn't make any sense - just trust me on this one. we found a restaurant on the beach which seemed good enough for some decent seafood and cold drinks. then back to the hotel for a dip in the pool, since our bathing suits were already wet and all.

fruit truck

in the afternoon we figured we'd head to quepos (down the other side of the big hill) to see what the little town had to offer. a post office, we were hoping. we didn't find that but we did find a pharmacy. oh and this fun fruit on the back of a truck. there wasn't much to quepos - i was hoping for some colorful doors or peeling paint - but we did catch a very orange sunset and treat ourselves to some ice cream, the first and only time this trip. then back up the hill to an unremarkable dinner and an early night.

teeny tiny

our final day in manuel antonio was set for ziplining, which my mother was most excited about. i was just along for the ride, so to speak, and didn't think i'd really be all that into it. the guides were great though - very good about making sure everyone was comfortable and knew what to do. and it was fun! though you had to remind yourself to look around the beautiful canopy you were zipping through. i didn't go in for all the 'scream like george of the jungle' gimmicky stuff but i definitely enjoyed it more than i thought i would. then at the end as we were enjoying our snacks we were greeted by some very skittish squirrel monkeys. they're so tiny - they only weigh two pounds! and they were the last of the four indigenous costa rican monkeys, so we managed to see them all.

playa espadilla bids us a colorful farewell

then it was back through town and up the hill for lunch at the very top of the hill at agua azul, boasting a beautiful view of, yes, you guessed it, blue water. a very nice lunch, seafood again. not every place was just rice and beans, as the guidebook had cautioned. although the guidebook was so often wrong that's probably not even noteworthy. we decided to go back to the beach one last time, this time for a little actual relaxation. we rented chairs and an umbrella and everything. it was a little overcast but good for some reading. then before long the sun started to set so.. well, let's just say i was pretty busy for a solid 25 minutes. seemed like a fitting farewell to our stay on the coast.