In 1994, people learned about and began to adopt electronic mail as a primary form of communication. Subsequently, the USPS has suffered greatly, bleeding billions of dollars a year, and I just read today in the online news (thank you for free access, Yahoo!) that the agency is cutting 35,000 more jobs this year.
In 2000, Napster fever had taken over the music industry and people everywhere, from college dorm rooms to DJ studios, were downloading music for free. While copyright laws have been upheld and the content has been given value, that value is still volitile and up for debate. Subsequently, stores like Blockbuster Music, The Wearhouse, and Tower Records closed their doors, unable to adapt to the digital trend.
In 2002, Netflix burst onto the scene and allowed consumers to have movies delivered directly do them through a subscription. Beginning in 2007, Netflix offered a streaming service so that customers could instantly watch content on demand. Last year, Blockbuster was bought out of bankruptcy by Dish Network, which continues to close stores. Hollywood Video is now extinct, and the advent of Redbox as killed almost all of the remaining Mom-n-Pop shops that don't have a porn section.
But print media is different. Print media has been around forever. The newspaper is a staple of daily life, right? There was no room for revolutionizing the news industry.
Since the early 90's, the internet has been a growing behemoth of information, updated evermore frequently, evermore in-depth, and becoming an evermore reliable source of real-time information. I learned of Michael Jackson's death as it happened by reading the news online. I was able to stream the verdict of the Conrad Murray trial.
What print media doesn't seem to realize, is that "new media" has a large advantage over all older forms: the ability to deliver several types of info-tainment through one channel at the users behest. When I read an article about crazy Grammy outfits, I read about Deadmou5 and how he wore a shirt with Skrillex's phone number on it. I then was able to pull up a photo of the shirt. Then, since I had no clue who/what Skrillex was, I looked that up on Wikipedia. Information is at our fingertips to be consumed these days, and we as consumers demand it more and more.
What I didn't have to do, was to pay for a subscription to look at the photo, research the artist, or read about the Grammy recap. The demand for information is great, but the barrier to entry to supply it no longer exists, and supply is growing at a rate much higher than demand.
DEAR LA TIMES: What makes you think that you will have any success in charging for your digital content? I get it, Wall Street big shots drop the NYT ap on their iPad and pay for the subscription. But you should understand why, too, and realize that it is a NYC cultural/status symbol that the LAT no longer commands. The consumer cannot connect the dots, either. Digital news requires no printing press, no delivery trucks or drivers, and no paper, but the advertising space is still there. So in our minds, costs go down but revenue stays relatively the same-- perhaps even grows, as there can be multiple ads per article online where in a physical paper this was not possible.
What makes the Times think that people won't immediately start perusing news sites they hadn't yet, like Patch.com for local news? What makes the times think that Angelenos won't all turn to Yahoo! News and their contributor network for better stories?
In order for print media and the LA Times to survive a journey into the digital age, they must learn how and why the Postal Service, and other brick-and-mortar media companies have failed. Certainly, charging a digital subscription for daily information that could be consumed by any number of competitors free of charge is not learning from the past. Get it together, guys.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Costa Rica Day 9: Adios!
While we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the beautiful Central American country of Costa Rica, our time there did eventually have to end. After our last breakfast at La Mansion, our driver was awaiting us in the lobby, about 15 minutes early. It turned out that our driver was Hjalmar again, the same gentleman that took us from San Jose to La Fortuna. He again had snacks and drinks for us, along with his laminated map that he used a dry-erase marker on to show our route.
On our way back, Hjalmar took a detour through Jaco, so that we could see the rapidly developing beach city on the Pacific Coast. There were a few high-rise condos and hotels, and the beach itself was long and wide, akin to Zuma, but with many more trees as you came ashore.
After about a 3 hour ride, we arrived at San Jose International Airport for our trip home. A quick note: There's a $28 exit fee to leave Costa Rica, so make sure you've got at least some money on the way home. But don't bring too much, because you may be tempted to pay for the in-flight DirecTV access. When did they start charging for the in-flight movie!?! Seems like excessive nickle-and-diming, to me.
It was pretty cool to travel over the Gulf of Mexico and see some of the Carribean Islands, especially since it was my first time laying eyes on the Carribean. But the wonderful dream that was our vacation came to a grinding halt once we landed in Houston.
The customs and immigration nightmare at IAH made me long for LAX; certainly they could have been more efficient and informative! Though we de-planed, headed straight through customs and immigration, and never left a secure area, we still had to go through the standard security line in order to reach our domestic flight back to LA. Of course, we weren't made aware of this until after sending our checked luggage onto the tarmac to be loaded, so my fantastic duty-free rum became an issue thanks to the Christmas Day underwear bomber (a life sentence for that guy was too lenient). I was forced to either discard the rum (which I went out of my way to get, so not likely) or pay $20 for a protective box to check with the rest of the luggage on the flight. I'll save my commentary on the issue, and just state that there were at least a dozen other people that went through the same frustrating exercise.
And the icing on the cake?...The toddler right behind us having a questionable attitude the entire flight from Houston to LA. But hey, once we landed back at LAX, all was well as we were able to listen to the tail-end of a Lakers win while we grabbed our bags.
Now we've started checking out places that we still need to visit in Costa Rica, and earmarking activities for when we go back. I encourage anyone who enjoys Hawaii, or Cabo, or islands in the Carribean to go visit Costa Rica and see why it has everything these places have and more. We can't wait for our next trip, and hope to bring some friends with us. PURA VIDA!
On our way back, Hjalmar took a detour through Jaco, so that we could see the rapidly developing beach city on the Pacific Coast. There were a few high-rise condos and hotels, and the beach itself was long and wide, akin to Zuma, but with many more trees as you came ashore.
After about a 3 hour ride, we arrived at San Jose International Airport for our trip home. A quick note: There's a $28 exit fee to leave Costa Rica, so make sure you've got at least some money on the way home. But don't bring too much, because you may be tempted to pay for the in-flight DirecTV access. When did they start charging for the in-flight movie!?! Seems like excessive nickle-and-diming, to me.
It was pretty cool to travel over the Gulf of Mexico and see some of the Carribean Islands, especially since it was my first time laying eyes on the Carribean. But the wonderful dream that was our vacation came to a grinding halt once we landed in Houston.
The customs and immigration nightmare at IAH made me long for LAX; certainly they could have been more efficient and informative! Though we de-planed, headed straight through customs and immigration, and never left a secure area, we still had to go through the standard security line in order to reach our domestic flight back to LA. Of course, we weren't made aware of this until after sending our checked luggage onto the tarmac to be loaded, so my fantastic duty-free rum became an issue thanks to the Christmas Day underwear bomber (a life sentence for that guy was too lenient). I was forced to either discard the rum (which I went out of my way to get, so not likely) or pay $20 for a protective box to check with the rest of the luggage on the flight. I'll save my commentary on the issue, and just state that there were at least a dozen other people that went through the same frustrating exercise.
And the icing on the cake?...The toddler right behind us having a questionable attitude the entire flight from Houston to LA. But hey, once we landed back at LAX, all was well as we were able to listen to the tail-end of a Lakers win while we grabbed our bags.
Now we've started checking out places that we still need to visit in Costa Rica, and earmarking activities for when we go back. I encourage anyone who enjoys Hawaii, or Cabo, or islands in the Carribean to go visit Costa Rica and see why it has everything these places have and more. We can't wait for our next trip, and hope to bring some friends with us. PURA VIDA!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Costa Rica Day 8: Beach Day!
This was our last full day in Manuel Antonio, and in Costa Rica, so we took the opportunity to let ourselves relax with a full day at the beach.
We headed down to the main public beach early, and got the perfectly placed umbrella and chairs that the locals peddle for $15. Of course, then they want you to buy drinks and food and pretty much anything else you can think of from them. But since this was our last day, that played right into our plans! Though we did turn down the Tico with the kayaks and jet skis, we still enjoyed some margaritas, cuba libres, and of course, Imperials with our almuerzos tipicos.
After a morning and early afternoon in the sun (with plenty of sun-block, of course), we headed for the beachside alley of bodegas with all kinds of local-made crafts, jewelry, and souvenirs. It's amazing how fast you make friends even when you buy little nick-knacks and chat up the local merchants; the Ticos we ran into on our trip were some genuinely friendly people.
Since it was our last day, we took advantage of Happy Hour at La Esquina de la Playa and stayed until sunset. Oddly enough, this was the most crowded place we visited on our entire trip. It was also the only place I've ever seen a 12 year old smoke, with her family, and nobody think anything of it.
We took the bus back up the hill, which was $500 colones ($1) for the two of us. Since the sun had just set, the bus was full with people heading home from the beach, tourists and locals alike. The bus dropped us off at the beginning of our road, right at Cafe Milagro.
A quick 1km walk back to the hotel, and we had walked into the VIP reception at La Mansion. It was a wine and appetizer social on the top deck at LMI, and we got a few minutes to speak with the head of guest relations, who also sent a follow up email on our stay a few days later. If I haven't stressed it enough already, the hospitality in Costa Rica was absolutely amazing.
After the reception we adjourned to our room and soaked in as much of Costa Rica as we could, just watching and listening to the serene jungle from our deck.
We headed down to the main public beach early, and got the perfectly placed umbrella and chairs that the locals peddle for $15. Of course, then they want you to buy drinks and food and pretty much anything else you can think of from them. But since this was our last day, that played right into our plans! Though we did turn down the Tico with the kayaks and jet skis, we still enjoyed some margaritas, cuba libres, and of course, Imperials with our almuerzos tipicos.
After a morning and early afternoon in the sun (with plenty of sun-block, of course), we headed for the beachside alley of bodegas with all kinds of local-made crafts, jewelry, and souvenirs. It's amazing how fast you make friends even when you buy little nick-knacks and chat up the local merchants; the Ticos we ran into on our trip were some genuinely friendly people.
Since it was our last day, we took advantage of Happy Hour at La Esquina de la Playa and stayed until sunset. Oddly enough, this was the most crowded place we visited on our entire trip. It was also the only place I've ever seen a 12 year old smoke, with her family, and nobody think anything of it.
We took the bus back up the hill, which was $500 colones ($1) for the two of us. Since the sun had just set, the bus was full with people heading home from the beach, tourists and locals alike. The bus dropped us off at the beginning of our road, right at Cafe Milagro.
A quick 1km walk back to the hotel, and we had walked into the VIP reception at La Mansion. It was a wine and appetizer social on the top deck at LMI, and we got a few minutes to speak with the head of guest relations, who also sent a follow up email on our stay a few days later. If I haven't stressed it enough already, the hospitality in Costa Rica was absolutely amazing.
After the reception we adjourned to our room and soaked in as much of Costa Rica as we could, just watching and listening to the serene jungle from our deck.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Costa Rica Day 7: Playa Biesanz and a Quepos Catamaran Ride
Our second full day in Manuel Antonio was an unscheduled free day on our itinerary. We decided to walk down to the secluded cove of Playa Biesanz after breakfast, but booked the afternoon catamaran sail out of Quepos harbor at the front desk on our way out, as that seemed to be one of the most recommended activities that we heard from people we came across.
The beach was about a quarter of a mile walk down the road, and then down a 200 yard trail to the sand. On the way, we saw a family of Capuchin monkeys cruising on the power lines and in the trees right by the trailhead; it's amazing how adapted they are to human presence! Some seemed completely indifferent to their audience, while others seemed to enjoy the attention and posed for pictures.
On the trail, we came across a cluster of butterflies, as well as a small farm complete with talkative rooster, turkey, dairy cow, several chickens, and even a family of ducks hanging around the perimeter. Just past that was a small stand with locals renting snorkel gear and kayaks, and selling water and soft drinks.
The beach itself was extremely tranquil and practically empty, by Southern California standards. The cove also kept the water extremely calm, so I was able to swim out a couple hundred yards to get a look around the corner; I saw a group of people snorkeling where we eventually would be doing the same later in the afternoon. There was also a group of rocks with tidepools on them near the beach, which of course, I had to take the opportunity to dive off.
We had lunch back at the hotel's swim-up bar where we were again the only guests. We shot the breeze en Espanol with our bartenders Jesus and Martin, who were more than happy to have someone to talk to, and like everyone else, loved our response to where we learned our Spanish, "En escuela, y las calles de Los Angeles."
We also made quick friends with our shuttle-mates on our ride over to the catamaran in the harbor. We met a German couple up at the Hotel Mariposa who spoke German and English (no Spanish), and of course our driver only spoke Spanish. Their friends (the other people we needed to pick up) were outside the front gate, down the hill, and left off onto a side road. It was when I translated this to the driver for them that I realized seven days in Costa Rica had really helped me bring back my Spanish.
As it turned out, these folks knew one of the employees on the catamaran cruise, which made the experience that much more fun. Once we got on the boat, they opened up the tip-only bar, gave the quick safety speech, and away we went. There were even nets at the front of the boat, trying to bring quaintness to the two-story tour vessel, equipped with outboard water-slide.
The cruise took us across the Manuel Antonio Bay and between a few of the islands that are part of the National Park. The views were absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, we didn't see any dolphins or whales, and were surprised to hear about orca being off the coast of LA at the same time. However, we did get to see several species of birds, and still had yet to snorkel.
Upon reaching the point and rock cluster I saw people gathered around earlier, we anchored and disembarked. We were provided snorkel gear, complete with mask, fins, and of course a life vest. I was impressed with how different the types of fish were here than the ones that I had seen snorkeling in places like Catalina, Baja, or Hawaii. Definitely something I would recommend doing! But I couldn't spend all of our anchor time snorkeling; there was a water-slide to be conquered! Also something I highly recommend!
There was a sunset buffet as the cruise headed back toward the harbor, and they killed the engines and took the sail up. One of the Germans we had befriended, Martin, is a world-class sailboat racer in Germany, and was asked to man the helm during the sail. After the sun had set, we headed back for the harbor and disembarked.
Back at La Mansion, we were still a bit hungry by 8:30, having had eaten lightly at the 4:30 buffet, so we visited the Jacques Cousteau at the hotel. We found out that there was a reason for their reputation in Quepos, as this place had delicious food in a dining-room style environment. And again, there were only two other tables of people, leaving the place more than 70% empty, so the service was impeccable; we even got a visit from the manager, Diego, at the end.
It seemed that my wife and I both had the same idea as we walked back towards our room and peered our heads into the Bat Cave bar: it's right by our room, we're on vacation, it looks cool, we should go. Add to that the fact that the place looked packed, and we couldn't be kept out any longer.
Once we sat down, the 16 year old bartender did his best to serve the "overwhelmingly large" crowd of 10, but it did take him a while to get everyone there drinks. Before we knew it, Diego was on the scene. It began with some quick criticism of the boy in Spanish, and then a quick, exasperated sigh eye-roll, and hand-flail, followed by a blindingly rapid set-up for four-- no-- five shots. He turned around, grabbed a few bottles, poured a bit of each in it, and then I made the tiny gesture that would change the course of the evening.
As Diego poured the shots, he looked up to the family he was making them for, and asked, "shots?" to each of them to confirm how many he was making. Facetious me, I had to turn his question into a Li'l Jon lick. I barely finished my first, "Every-body!" when he slides the first concoction to me to demonstrate that he had made something worth imbibing, "Toma primero, y digame!" Aw crap, me and my big mouth.
My wife and I probably actually ordered 3 drinks each that evening, Diego kept making shots, while telling us the history of the hotel. He also snuck out for a few minutes early on to change out of his suit into his bar-tending transformers shirt. Diego has been working at La Mansion for 11 years, and helped with the construction of the Bat Cave Bar. In fact, most of the decor there are his personal artifacts, which makes it even more of a unique place. By the end of the night when we got the bill, we paid for one drink each. Needless to say, that friendly Tico got a hefty tip. If you're ever in Manuel Antonio, definitely head to La Mansion Inn one night and check out the Bat Cave Bar; there were several people that popped in and out while we were there that were not hotel guests.
The beach was about a quarter of a mile walk down the road, and then down a 200 yard trail to the sand. On the way, we saw a family of Capuchin monkeys cruising on the power lines and in the trees right by the trailhead; it's amazing how adapted they are to human presence! Some seemed completely indifferent to their audience, while others seemed to enjoy the attention and posed for pictures.
On the trail, we came across a cluster of butterflies, as well as a small farm complete with talkative rooster, turkey, dairy cow, several chickens, and even a family of ducks hanging around the perimeter. Just past that was a small stand with locals renting snorkel gear and kayaks, and selling water and soft drinks.
The beach itself was extremely tranquil and practically empty, by Southern California standards. The cove also kept the water extremely calm, so I was able to swim out a couple hundred yards to get a look around the corner; I saw a group of people snorkeling where we eventually would be doing the same later in the afternoon. There was also a group of rocks with tidepools on them near the beach, which of course, I had to take the opportunity to dive off.We had lunch back at the hotel's swim-up bar where we were again the only guests. We shot the breeze en Espanol with our bartenders Jesus and Martin, who were more than happy to have someone to talk to, and like everyone else, loved our response to where we learned our Spanish, "En escuela, y las calles de Los Angeles."
We also made quick friends with our shuttle-mates on our ride over to the catamaran in the harbor. We met a German couple up at the Hotel Mariposa who spoke German and English (no Spanish), and of course our driver only spoke Spanish. Their friends (the other people we needed to pick up) were outside the front gate, down the hill, and left off onto a side road. It was when I translated this to the driver for them that I realized seven days in Costa Rica had really helped me bring back my Spanish.
As it turned out, these folks knew one of the employees on the catamaran cruise, which made the experience that much more fun. Once we got on the boat, they opened up the tip-only bar, gave the quick safety speech, and away we went. There were even nets at the front of the boat, trying to bring quaintness to the two-story tour vessel, equipped with outboard water-slide.
The cruise took us across the Manuel Antonio Bay and between a few of the islands that are part of the National Park. The views were absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, we didn't see any dolphins or whales, and were surprised to hear about orca being off the coast of LA at the same time. However, we did get to see several species of birds, and still had yet to snorkel.
Upon reaching the point and rock cluster I saw people gathered around earlier, we anchored and disembarked. We were provided snorkel gear, complete with mask, fins, and of course a life vest. I was impressed with how different the types of fish were here than the ones that I had seen snorkeling in places like Catalina, Baja, or Hawaii. Definitely something I would recommend doing! But I couldn't spend all of our anchor time snorkeling; there was a water-slide to be conquered! Also something I highly recommend!
There was a sunset buffet as the cruise headed back toward the harbor, and they killed the engines and took the sail up. One of the Germans we had befriended, Martin, is a world-class sailboat racer in Germany, and was asked to man the helm during the sail. After the sun had set, we headed back for the harbor and disembarked.
Back at La Mansion, we were still a bit hungry by 8:30, having had eaten lightly at the 4:30 buffet, so we visited the Jacques Cousteau at the hotel. We found out that there was a reason for their reputation in Quepos, as this place had delicious food in a dining-room style environment. And again, there were only two other tables of people, leaving the place more than 70% empty, so the service was impeccable; we even got a visit from the manager, Diego, at the end.
It seemed that my wife and I both had the same idea as we walked back towards our room and peered our heads into the Bat Cave bar: it's right by our room, we're on vacation, it looks cool, we should go. Add to that the fact that the place looked packed, and we couldn't be kept out any longer.
Once we sat down, the 16 year old bartender did his best to serve the "overwhelmingly large" crowd of 10, but it did take him a while to get everyone there drinks. Before we knew it, Diego was on the scene. It began with some quick criticism of the boy in Spanish, and then a quick, exasperated sigh eye-roll, and hand-flail, followed by a blindingly rapid set-up for four-- no-- five shots. He turned around, grabbed a few bottles, poured a bit of each in it, and then I made the tiny gesture that would change the course of the evening.
As Diego poured the shots, he looked up to the family he was making them for, and asked, "shots?" to each of them to confirm how many he was making. Facetious me, I had to turn his question into a Li'l Jon lick. I barely finished my first, "Every-body!" when he slides the first concoction to me to demonstrate that he had made something worth imbibing, "Toma primero, y digame!" Aw crap, me and my big mouth.
My wife and I probably actually ordered 3 drinks each that evening, Diego kept making shots, while telling us the history of the hotel. He also snuck out for a few minutes early on to change out of his suit into his bar-tending transformers shirt. Diego has been working at La Mansion for 11 years, and helped with the construction of the Bat Cave Bar. In fact, most of the decor there are his personal artifacts, which makes it even more of a unique place. By the end of the night when we got the bill, we paid for one drink each. Needless to say, that friendly Tico got a hefty tip. If you're ever in Manuel Antonio, definitely head to La Mansion Inn one night and check out the Bat Cave Bar; there were several people that popped in and out while we were there that were not hotel guests.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Costa Rica Day 6: Manuel Antonio National Park, a Jungle on the Beach!
Our first morning in Manuel Antonio was scheduled to be an eventful one, yet still exceeded expectations! After all, you know that it's going to be an interesting day when you wake up to an iguana chilling on your balcony.But that was just the beginning. Again, we used Costa Rica Vacations to book this trip, and many things were included in our package, such as breakfasts....and the breakfast at La Mansion fue lo mejor! Forget the disgustingly awesome views of the national park from our patio seating, or even the impeccable service from the staff, but the food was amazing! I highly reccomend the Gallo Pinto, if you're looking to try some comida tipica. And definitely get a fruit plate; you'll thank me later for some of the best and freshest fruit you've ever tasted.
But I digress. Immediately after breakfsast, our tourguide was in the lobby to pick us up, a few others at a different hotel along the way, and we were off to Manuel Antonio National Park. The first thing I noticed when we got there at 7:45am was how long the line already was to purchase tickets to get into the park. There are a limited number of people allowed in per day, and a guide is not necessary. It's $10 for a day pass into the park, and many people (both tourists and Ticos) just get the tickets and head down the trail to the beaches. We, however, had Eagle-eye Roy to show us things we never could have possibly seen without his expertise...or telescope lens, in some cases.
We saw all kinds of plants, bugs, birds, reptiles, and even poisonous jungle crabs. But of course, the highlight was the sloths (both 2 and 3 toed) and the family of Capucchin monkeys that performed in the trees and on the beach right in front of us. There was a family of racoons, too, but that was only odd because you don't normally associate them with the jungle.
Our four hour jungle tour ended with some much needed beach time at the main Manuel Antonio public beach, where we also got some lunch at one of the beachside restaurants, and had to stop by one of the street vendors for some fresh Pipa fria!
A post-lunch pool beverage, followed by naptime was definitely in order after our long morning in the hot & humid jungle, but by the time late afternoon rolled around, it was exploring time again.
What do you need when you wake up from a quick nap, feeling a bit groggy from the morning's hike, lunchtime beverage, and afterlunch in-pool beverage? Fresh Costa Rican coffee, of course! We headed up to the main road to Cafe Milagro, a coffee/bar. Definitely the best latte I've ever tasted, and we had to stash up on Costa Rican coffee to take home, so this was the perfect spot! They also had Costa Rica microbrew there, so naturally I had to try one of those, as well (also Awesome!).
We had dinner at a local spot where we saw only 2 tables of Ticos eating, deciding to employ the "Chinese people eating at the Chinese restaurant" technique. The strategy did not let us down, as the comida tipica was amazing.
And I know we get spoiled with gorgeous sunsets in Southern California, but even the folks on the Catamaran ride the next day agreed, the Sunset on Jan 3 was absolutely amazing!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Costa Rica Day 5: From the Mountains to the Sea
As amazing as our time in La Fortuna was, it had to end at some point so that we could make our journey across the continental divide and over to the Pacific coast. Drive time from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio was just about 5.5 hours, including a stop for lunch at a soda along the highway (amazing Pollo Casado!). Our driver, Andreas, took us through the cloud forest, past Jaco, Costa Rica's own Playa Hermosa, the Palm Oil plantation near Parrito, and of course over the famed crocodile bridge, where a real-life jungle cruise was touring right next to the dozens of crocs!
When we arrived in Quepos, we noticed immediately the comparably dense development both in Quepostown and along the highway towards Manuel Antonio beach. Our hotel, La Mansion, was out on the peninsula a bit, with an amazing view of beaches to the North and South of us. This place is literally a converted mansion, with winding stairwells, an oversized dining room turned into a restaurant, and complete with a bar built into a cavern, dubbed the Bat Cave.
La Mansion also had the first swim-up bar that I was ever able to utilize, another bonus! Even the views from inside the pool were a bit ridiculous, but we decided to be spoiled and soak in paradise!
At the recommendation of Carlos at the front desk, we had dinner at Victoria's back up on the main road (a quick, $8 cab ride), which is an Italian restaurant that the Ticos raved about the pizza. Quick to see what their interpretation of good pizza was, I enjoyed the thin-crust concoction with fresh pineapple and ham.
A little nightcap of Cacique & OJ with some Toros teletica in the background, and our fifth day was spent!
When we arrived in Quepos, we noticed immediately the comparably dense development both in Quepostown and along the highway towards Manuel Antonio beach. Our hotel, La Mansion, was out on the peninsula a bit, with an amazing view of beaches to the North and South of us. This place is literally a converted mansion, with winding stairwells, an oversized dining room turned into a restaurant, and complete with a bar built into a cavern, dubbed the Bat Cave.
La Mansion also had the first swim-up bar that I was ever able to utilize, another bonus! Even the views from inside the pool were a bit ridiculous, but we decided to be spoiled and soak in paradise!
At the recommendation of Carlos at the front desk, we had dinner at Victoria's back up on the main road (a quick, $8 cab ride), which is an Italian restaurant that the Ticos raved about the pizza. Quick to see what their interpretation of good pizza was, I enjoyed the thin-crust concoction with fresh pineapple and ham.
A little nightcap of Cacique & OJ with some Toros teletica in the background, and our fifth day was spent!
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