Manuel Antonio Maravilloso

This past weekend I finally got around to getting down to Manuel Antonio, which is somewhere where almost everyone else has been. I can say that I am so glad that I finally got around to being there. Manuel Antonio is a national park along the coastline with plenty of pretty beaches and wonderful animals. It is really a great place to go visit and all around pleasant, and I'm glad that I got to head down there with my good buddy Kyle.

We got there just in time for a late lunch , and we ate at the restaurant in front of our hostel that we were staying at. We spent a decent amount of time at this restaurant because we got to meet plenty of great people and eat some pretty good food as well. We spent the rest of that day down on the beach just walking around and watching the waves come in as it started to get dark. It was a good example of how calming it can be here to just hang out and enjoy just how fantastic it is here. We then headed back, at some food, and went to sleep. That night I was having a little bit of trouble sleeping, but at one point I suddenly realized why I might have had a problem. I heard this incessant noise that only can be described if you know the source...howler monkeys. Let me tell you, they are loud and all over the area. It isn't too uncommon to not be able to see them, but you will always be able to hear them. Finally, after a bit of their primal serenading, I fell asleep.

The next day we got up, ate some breakfast, and decided to head into the national park. Luckily our hostel was next door to the ticket office before heading into the park. There we payed for a guide to take us through the park with his equipment so that we could see everything possible. At first we were both a little reluctant with our guide because he seemed a little all over the place, but after a while he found out that we were students and he could speak Spanish with us. On top of that, when he discovered that I was taking a sustainable development class, he became a cornucopia of information and opinions to share with us about both the national park and the environment as a whole. While walking through the park our guide pointed out plants, insects, amphibians, both types of sloth, plenty of howler monkeys, and a thieving family of raccoon. He also had plenty to share about what kind of practices people can use to help be more sustainable and fit into our environment. After parting ways, Kyle and I wandered a bit more through the park to see all that we could see and went back to our hostel. We rested a bit, walked to the ATM, and then headed out for a late lunch in the afternoon. We sat at in a restaurant by the beach with our lunch while sharing a pitcher of sangria. It is just another one of those moments were we just felt overwhelmed by how great it was to be in Costa Rica. We headed over to the beach, watched the sun set, and went for a quick swim in the pool at our hostel as they began to project the movie "The Dictator" up on the wall (yeah, this place was pretty sweet). We hung out for a while there and then at the restaurant in front for another relaxed evening here in Costa Rica.

Finally, the next day, we just got up and headed to the beach. The surf wasn't that great, so we just hung out in the water for a while and got a surf board just for kicks. We passed the time in the sun and then grabbed our stuff and headed towards the bus station with a stop off in a great restaurant that has a massive plane in it! Lunch was so good, and of course we couldn't avoid the loud calls of the howler monkeys as I took in the view of the ocean. Finally, we were back on the bus leaving one of the prettiest places I have been to in Costa Rica. There is so much to be thankful for with weekends like this, and it really makes me begin to feel like I'm not quite ready to go back home. While in the city, I may be ready to go, but these weekends just make me want to stay forever. Pura vida.