Manuel Antonio
Manuel Antonio was HOT when I arrived! The rains had finally stopped that day, and the rest of my trip was beautiful.
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| Playa Espadilla Sur |
The park is open from 8am-4pm, and buses run every 30 minutes. Admission was $7 (no student rate unless I was studying in Costa Rica), but the ticket was good all day if I chose to come and go.
There is a stream to cross to get into the park. Pretty, but somewhat annoying, because the boatmen charge to take visitors across...but then there's a fee to get into the park anyway! The first day I simply hopped (a little unsteadily—my sandals had horrible traction) across on the large rocks, but the second day, heavy rains from the previous night raised the water level. Fortunately, I got the boatman down to 100c for that 5-second ride.
A short hike after the entrance, I arrived at Playa Espadilla Sur. Sven, my hotel manager, had pointed it out on a map as the most beautiful beach in Manuel Antonio. He didn't exaggerate. This stunning, pristine beach was mostly empty for reasons I could not fathom. It wasn't even that early, maybe 10AM.
Next I hiked up to Punta Catedral, which was steep and slippery—my ancient Tevas brought my ass down to the muddy floor more than once. The views were worth the bumps on the road.
25 more minutes of hiking brought me to Playa Manuel Antonio, the most crowded beach. In low season that's about 20-25 people, of course. Adorable capuchin monkeys hung out in the trees lining the beach; supposedly they have no fear of humans and are known for snatching bags to look for food inside. A baby deer wandered the beach the first day I was there, looking confused.
I couldn't afford a guide but I tagged behind a group to see the sloths. Not sure what the group thought but the guide was fairly welcoming. Luckily I'd brought binoculars, as the sloths were really far up.
After I'd broken off on my own again, strange noises and sudden movements in the trees led me to find less-tame capuchin monkeys than the ones near the beach. I never saw howlers, only heard them, but capuchins were not as deeply hidden. I stopped for almost 20 minutes in awe staring a large bunch of monkeys chowing through some small round orange fruits and hurling the peels to the forest floor.
There is a more challenging trail near the end (the trails do not loop)—the waterfall trail. This took a bit of time. This trail is steep and muddy, and at points I had to grab tree roots to haul myself up. Then I lost track of the trail and had to wade through the stream the rest of the way. It was about 2 feet high after the rains.
I ended up meeting a Costa Rican couple along the trail, who were probably confused as well, but since they didn't speak English we helped each other along the trail with gestures only.
But it was worth the trouble. The waterfall is small but strong, looking like the most refreshing shower you can imagine. Incredibly cool and relaxing. The Costa Rican couple encouraged me to climb the rocks to the view the area from above the waterfall, which was fun.
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| Cooling off in the waterfall |
After a few moments of solitude, with the couple taking turns showering off the forest heat under the waterfall, a large loud group of Americans crashed in. They were annoying no doubt, but there was one who was not really with the group and had just helped them find their way. She was very nice and we walked back together, avoiding the stream. We passed a pleasant afternoon together later at the overpriced Café Milagro.
Manuel Antonio was absolutely beautiful and I'm already dreaming of my return. It's wildly popular with foreign and local tourists for good reason.
This park is about 7km from Quepos. The bus cost 100c no matter where I got on — my hotel was on the lovely road between Quepos and the park, so I just stood in front of the hotel to flag down the bus. There seemed to be only a few official stops on any bus route; people got off and on wherever they chose. The area right outside the park is not a nice, full of vendors and surfers, but inside is an absolute jewel.
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| Playa Espadilla Sur |