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!