Veinte

We spent a wonderful day bat Manuel Antonio National Park. It’s about an hour north of us. We had driven near it previously when we visited Quepos during our first week. Today we got the full treatment.


We got an early start, hitting the road about 7:15 loaded with hiking and swimming supplies. Our first stop was in Quepos at the Bakery Caliente Roca, which we had really enjoyed on our first trip. After some delicious donuts and pastries and the purchase of a great loaf of bread, we drove the remaining 4 miles to the park. It was a little strange to pass the Quepos school, where uniformed ninos were hard at work studying.



The Park itself is at the end of a long beach road with a cul-de-sac, but if you don’t know that you are stopped numerous times by gypsy tour operators who want you to park in their lot and buy a high priced tour of the park from them. Fortunately we had been warned by the bakery proprietor to just do the park ourselves. We drove through the swarm of tour purveyors and finally got to an actual Park employee, who was very helpful in telling us where to park and where to get tickets for admission.



We loaded everything into a duffle bag and headed off to the ticket office. There were large groups of people from tour buses entering at the same time, so the first part of the walk was crowded. Some of the groups had hired guides though, so we were able to spot some of the wildlife we might have missed. The first thing we saw (after some beautiful orange butterflies) was a tree sloth, slowly making its way down a tall tree.

The hike through the park to the beach was about a mile by this trail. We saw lots of sloths, some pretty birds, and plenty of exotic rainforest plants and trees.



Finally we descended from a high hill to the main beach. The water was incredibly blue, and the scenery was spectacular. There was white sand, with crashing waves cascading loudly on it, and great rock formations to climb on.



But the main attraction is the tame whiteface monkeys who live there.

They are not at all shy and will approach you if they think you have food with you. There are signs everywhere admonishing you not to feed them.



We swam a while, and then took a break to eat a snack. That’s when we became very good friends with one particular monkey who spotted our food. This guy swung down and grabbed a cookie right off Amy’s towel, and then ran up a tree to eat it, between self-satisfied glances down at us.

After a while, we walked down the trail to another beach. On the way we saw a monkey with a baby clinging tightly to its back. We also walked right under a baby boa constrictor perched on a branch over the path. It stayed there all afternoon, and the guides did not seem alarmed.

Our passes were good for the whole day so we decided to leave for lunch and come back to a different beach. More great scenery awaited us at every turn on our way out.

We drove back along the road and found a place offering hot dogs and beer. Que naturale!

The floor of the dining area is all tile, and has dozens of jungle animals portrayed.

They also had great nachos, and a grilled veggie sandwich. Attached to this place is an internet café made from an old railroad car.

We returned to the beach and swam in a quieter surf, and watched people try to surf or ride jet skis. Samuel loves riding the surf in from a few feet out, and getting all tumbled around in the frothy water.

Sarah got buried in the sand.

We got her out.



When we packed up we walked through an encampment of people selling souvenirs and handicrafts. It looked a little like a Grateful Dead campground.

We finished the trip with a stop at the Pal-I Supermercado in Quepos, the biggest one in the area. (“Welcome to the Lowest Prices”- sounds familiar)

We stocked up on things we can’t find at the Uvita store and headed home. Everyone has retired for the night, and I won’t be long behind them. It was a very tiring but very rewarding day in the Park.