Woke to the howler monkeys at dawn, but slept a while longer, 'til 6:15 or so. Yesterday the view was blocked by clouds and darkness. This morning we can see that the view is gorgeous! It looks out on the Pacific. Jungle then ocean then sky. Me, I'm in the hammock.
This is the hotel's pool...
Bet ya never knew Costa Rica's smaller roads were so fraught with danger!?
This guy was just hanging out, on the side of the curb.
More Leafcutter Ants. A few interesting tidbits... They don't actually eat the pieces of leaves that they carry into the underground chambers of their nest. They use the leaves to cultivate a fungus, and they eat the fungus. Also, they maintain a sort of compost heap outside of their underground nests - workers transport the waste to the heap then the heap-workers organize and shuffle the heap to aid decomposition.
As you get closer to the beaches, there are lots of vendors selling souvenirs and snacks. We had trouble finding the park entrance, as nothing here is marked! Even then, I don't think the one we found was an "official" one. The ticket said $8, but they charged $10. What we should have done is find the place where there are boats and cross the narrow stream there (which is what we did on the way out) - that's the official park entrance.
White-Throated Capuchins...
They always have such anguished looks on their faces!
When we finally got to the right beach, it was gorgeous! And very interesting with the jungly backdrop. The beach was clean. The sand was what they called white, but it was mixed with black grains. The water wasn't crystal clear, but it wasn't at all muddy or dirty.
Tide pools with lots of neat, little, aquatic creatures.
Not sure what this was.
And then there were the hermit crabs! (At least, I think they were hermit crabs.) Nick could've played with them all day!
Manuel Antonio is touristy, but the beach is beautiful. (No rain today!) This place is definitely more jungle-like than the previous places we've visited, with the heat and the humidity. However, you still have cool breezes, even during midday. And the beaches have lots of refreshing shade and cool sand.
We hung out here until 3 or 4pm, then headed back on a different route.
This raccoon was going nuts over this apple!
All the twisty vines. I believe these are called lianas.
We didn't pay the guy to cross in a boat; we just walked through the stream. It probably was quite polluted. Oh well. We then had a casado lunch with a drink for 3500 colones ($6 or so) sold by one of the street vendors. It was yummy.
We returned to the hotel but first stopped at the Joseth grocery store and a pharmacy (Nick's sandals were giving him blisters) after passing them up at first by bus. At the bus stop, some Squirrel Monkeys crossed overhead. They put up these monkey crossings - these tree-to-tree cables over the road - so the monkeys can safely cross the busy street.
It was here that we decided the brand of sandals "Rafters" suck! Nick bought these because they looked better than Tevas; however, these so-called "water sandals" are not meant to get wet. They stunk after becoming wet, completely fell apart on him and gave him blisters. Buy Tevas. I personally like the Terra Fi II - they're not what I'd consider attractive sandals, but they work.
From the grocery store, it was about a 10 minute walk back to the hotel. Off the main road of hotels in Manuel Antonio, near the grocery store, there is a sign for a "Bat Cave." I hadn't read about it before, and we didn't get the chance to go. It's 1 km off the road. [After googling it, I think this must be the cave that is part of La Mansion Inn's bar??? Bar + bats - I'm not sure that's a good idea.]
When we got back, we jumped in the pool for a while, but it was too cold. This is the view from the pool area...
We then took showers and sat outside and talked.
It is true that anything you put down anywhere in Costa Rica will end up with some weird-looking bug crawling on it (and become very, very damp!) This place in particular had a lot of little bugs crawling on the tables in the room. Many people complain about this sort of thing on Trip Advisor. However, it doesn't mean the place is dirty or not well-maintained necessarily; I think this is just part-and-parcel of staying in this type of environment. Actually, at Arenal Observatory Lodge I left the bag the filter with coffee was in on the table, and it became infested with little bugs, so just take care not to leave foodstuffs out.
We didn't have to use the deet yet. We've encountered a few mosquitoes, but I can't say I've been bitten. Nick has a few bites that he's had for a couple of days, not sure if they're from mosquitoes or not, and my skin is bumpy in a lot of places. I think that was more a reaction to the sun though.
Later, we made a slightly different spaghetti meal.
Staying at a place that has a kitchen can be nice. Next time it'd be a good idea to bring small amounts of olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar packets (we never had enough sugar for our coffee). Or you could just buy normal amounts of this stuff and leave it there for the next guest. But by bringing small amounts, you can take it with you, and use it in more than one location.
The cat was back! And, boy, she loves cheese! We've found Kaiser's soul mate! (Remember, the Cheese Bandit!)
next post > day 7 - Leaving Manuel Antonio
previous post > day 5 - Manuel Antonio & Villas Nicolas
first post > day 1 - Adventure, Exploration and Relaxation
This is the hotel's pool...
We started walking to the Manuel Antonio National Park at 10:30am and arrived at 11am. It was a very scenic 30 minutes...
Bet ya never knew Costa Rica's smaller roads were so fraught with danger!?
This guy was just hanging out, on the side of the curb.
More Leafcutter Ants. A few interesting tidbits... They don't actually eat the pieces of leaves that they carry into the underground chambers of their nest. They use the leaves to cultivate a fungus, and they eat the fungus. Also, they maintain a sort of compost heap outside of their underground nests - workers transport the waste to the heap then the heap-workers organize and shuffle the heap to aid decomposition.
As you get closer to the beaches, there are lots of vendors selling souvenirs and snacks. We had trouble finding the park entrance, as nothing here is marked! Even then, I don't think the one we found was an "official" one. The ticket said $8, but they charged $10. What we should have done is find the place where there are boats and cross the narrow stream there (which is what we did on the way out) - that's the official park entrance.White-Throated Capuchins...
They always have such anguished looks on their faces!
Tide pools with lots of neat, little, aquatic creatures.
Not sure what this was.
And then there were the hermit crabs! (At least, I think they were hermit crabs.) Nick could've played with them all day!
Manuel Antonio is touristy, but the beach is beautiful. (No rain today!) This place is definitely more jungle-like than the previous places we've visited, with the heat and the humidity. However, you still have cool breezes, even during midday. And the beaches have lots of refreshing shade and cool sand.
We hung out here until 3 or 4pm, then headed back on a different route.
This raccoon was going nuts over this apple!
All the twisty vines. I believe these are called lianas.
We didn't pay the guy to cross in a boat; we just walked through the stream. It probably was quite polluted. Oh well. We then had a casado lunch with a drink for 3500 colones ($6 or so) sold by one of the street vendors. It was yummy.
We returned to the hotel but first stopped at the Joseth grocery store and a pharmacy (Nick's sandals were giving him blisters) after passing them up at first by bus. At the bus stop, some Squirrel Monkeys crossed overhead. They put up these monkey crossings - these tree-to-tree cables over the road - so the monkeys can safely cross the busy street.
It was here that we decided the brand of sandals "Rafters" suck! Nick bought these because they looked better than Tevas; however, these so-called "water sandals" are not meant to get wet. They stunk after becoming wet, completely fell apart on him and gave him blisters. Buy Tevas. I personally like the Terra Fi II - they're not what I'd consider attractive sandals, but they work.
From the grocery store, it was about a 10 minute walk back to the hotel. Off the main road of hotels in Manuel Antonio, near the grocery store, there is a sign for a "Bat Cave." I hadn't read about it before, and we didn't get the chance to go. It's 1 km off the road. [After googling it, I think this must be the cave that is part of La Mansion Inn's bar??? Bar + bats - I'm not sure that's a good idea.]
* * *
When we got back, we jumped in the pool for a while, but it was too cold. This is the view from the pool area...
It is true that anything you put down anywhere in Costa Rica will end up with some weird-looking bug crawling on it (and become very, very damp!) This place in particular had a lot of little bugs crawling on the tables in the room. Many people complain about this sort of thing on Trip Advisor. However, it doesn't mean the place is dirty or not well-maintained necessarily; I think this is just part-and-parcel of staying in this type of environment. Actually, at Arenal Observatory Lodge I left the bag the filter with coffee was in on the table, and it became infested with little bugs, so just take care not to leave foodstuffs out.
We didn't have to use the deet yet. We've encountered a few mosquitoes, but I can't say I've been bitten. Nick has a few bites that he's had for a couple of days, not sure if they're from mosquitoes or not, and my skin is bumpy in a lot of places. I think that was more a reaction to the sun though.
Later, we made a slightly different spaghetti meal.
Staying at a place that has a kitchen can be nice. Next time it'd be a good idea to bring small amounts of olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar packets (we never had enough sugar for our coffee). Or you could just buy normal amounts of this stuff and leave it there for the next guest. But by bringing small amounts, you can take it with you, and use it in more than one location.
The cat was back! And, boy, she loves cheese! We've found Kaiser's soul mate! (Remember, the Cheese Bandit!)
next post > day 7 - Leaving Manuel Antonio
previous post > day 5 - Manuel Antonio & Villas Nicolas
first post > day 1 - Adventure, Exploration and Relaxation
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