Monkeys!!!
That’s how I would sum up this trip in a word. I won’t make you scroll, here they are!
We started this trip with yet another bus ride. This one was a quick 4 hours, and we arrived around 2pm. This gave us time to walk the many steps up to our Airbnb and settle into the apartment that would become our home for the weekend. After a quick change and admittedly a lot of loafing around, we headed off for the beach. We took the bus down in the direction of the national park until we hit the public beach ten minutes later. We took in the view, walked on the sand to find our perfect spot, and set down our towels just as it started to rain. It was a drizzle that quickly turned into a downpour and sent us running into the nearest souvenir shop.
We realized the rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon and decided to grab a drink at a bar where we would still look out on the ocean. There I had a delicious passionfruit smoothie and shared chips and guac. The highlights were laughing a ton with my friends after some surprisingly strong drinks and taking a picture with our waiter who (seriously it was uncanny) looked just like a young Barack Obama.
Eventually the rain died down and we were able to watch the sunset from the beach before catching the bus back to our place. Since the clouds kept threatening to let loose again we decided to grab some fixings for pasta from the supermarket and stay in for the night.
The next morning we headed off bright and early(ish) for the National Park. I woke up full of excitement and a plan: I was going to see a monkey today. Another ten minute bus ride, a 10 minute walk, a short ticket line, and we were at the park entrance.
Truth be told, the park officials were ruthless and inconsistent when it came to letting food into the park. There were four of us, and one got in with cereal, one got cheerios and pretzels confiscated, another got dates taken away, and one didn’t get searched at all. The reasons why we couldn’t go in with certain foods were inconsistent as well. An official told me I couldn’t take my food in because of the smell but my friend got in with jalapeño chips. I say all this for anyone who might go – be forewarned.
Once we got in to the park, it was a pretty long hike to the beach. We saw a lot of crabs and one sloth from far away, but mostly just jungle.
When we arrived at the beach, we were soaked with sweat. We hiked a little farther across the sand to find a shady spot, and I was so tired that I didn’t notice the monkeys until I heard my friend scream. Turns out she was fine, but a monkey had come out of nowhere and stolen her juice box.
The next five minutes were pure joy for me. First I took pictures carefully, trying not to startle them. Once I realized they seemed not to care I was there, I got really close. After the fact I was told this was probably not the best move, but I have to say it was awesome. Especially when this monkey came sliding down the tree and ran right past me.
As if I wasn’t lucky enough seeing two monkeys up close (another had come to fight the first for the juice box), when I turned around I saw the trees filled with more furry friends.
I can’t completely describe how cool this was. I got to watch all these critters I’ve only seen in Planet Earth documentaries running around in their natural habitat right in front of me.
After the monkeys disappeared back into the jungle, we laid on the beach for a few hours. Before we left I got up and ventured into a little cove where I saw a few lizards and a bunch of tiny crabs.
This week I also saw the climate strikes happening all over the world. As if climate change/the climate crisis wasn’t already a personal issue for me, this experience made it all the more tangible. I want future generations to be able to have experiences like this, and the fact is that won’t be possible if we as a planet don’t start making big changes like ending our dependence on fossil fuels, reducing our waste to the bare minimum, and respecting indigenous land.
You can find more information on how you can help on the global climate strike’s website and this BBC article is super helpful as well. Individual actions matter, but we have to work on a larger level as well and change the way our governments regulate the fossil fuel industry and put pressure on corporations to protect our planet. AND VOTE!
When we got back to out apartment we showered, napped for a few hours, and decided to go out for dinner to celebrate our last night there.
We went to a restaurant called El Avion. I’m linking it here because I would definitely recommend it. It was open air and we could feel the cool night breeze by our table. Of course, another downpour soon came and we had to rush all our food to the next table, but it didn’t put a damper on the atmosphere.
I had a papaya smoothie and the “Catch of the Day,” a filet of Mahi Mahi with mashed potatoes, veggies, and chimichurri sauce.
The restaurant gets its name because it’s built around an old plane with a very interesting history, which you can read about here. We went into the plane for drinks after dinner.
They let us get in the cockpit!
We weren’t out too late, but we did run into a bit of a sticky situation trying to get home. There were no Ubers around, it was raining too much to walk back, the bus wasn’t running anymore, and there were hardly any taxis on the road. Those that did come by wouldn’t take us anywhere, they were turning in for the night. We ended up waiting for about half an hour to get a taxi home, but we met a bunch of other tourists who we chatted with while we waited. By the time we got home it was almost midnight.
The next morning we said goodbye to our wonderful apartment and were off to catch the noon bus from Quepos.
This trip was high on my list of places to go before I leave Costa Rica, and I’m so glad we went. Here are my big takeaways from Manuel Antonio for anyone thinking about going:
- It is HOT. Dress appropriately and don’t forget deodorant.
- The sun is strong! The beach is so beautiful you might want to run straight into the ocean, but don’t forget sunscreen!
- The area is not a party atmosphere, so transportation can be hard to find after 10pm.
- Watch your back taking out food on the beach. Our accidental feeding of the monkeys was not a good move, introducing new foods into an ecosystem can have serious consequences for the animals living there.
- Eat some fresh fish, it’s delicious!
- Have fun! Try to forget the heat and embrace the Pura Vida vibes.
Pura Vida 