El Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio
This morning, we went to Manuel Antonio National Park, considered to be one of Costa Rica's most beautiful national parks. It lived up to the hype.
We took a taxi from Tulemar to the park, which is about 15 minutes or so away. When we arrived, we were more or less accosted by one of the "tour guides" who works there, who talked up taking a private tour for $25.00 each. At first, I admit that I was a bit dubious, but figured, what the hell, let's give it a go. And I am so glad we did.
His name is Leo, and he showed us things we would have never noticed without a guide. Odd little red crabs that live on the jungle floor, howler monkeys in the trees, a three toed sloth, fruit bats hanging from trees, lizards, birds, leaf-carrying army ants, and assorted flora used for medicine (we tasted quinine directly from a tree - that would make a great garnish in a G&T), food storage (giant leaves that felt like Saran Wrap), bandages (small plants leaves that will stick to a cut when it gets wet, and will actually infuse the cut with vitamin K).
The walk lasted about an hour, after the tour we went back to the Manuel Antonio beach and just kind of floated around in the water for a bit to unwind. Caught a cab back to Tulemar, where we had lunch that Amy got together with the groceries we bought yesterday. I made us mojitos made from local limes, mint and Costa Rican rum.
After that, Jan went back to our bungalow for a nap, and Robert and I each grabbed a beer and walked up to the lobby to hop on Blogger. Still have a nice buzz from the mojito. I think we're going to head back into Quepos a bit later to grab souvenirs.
There's another Stanley Cup game on tonight and the plan is to be back at Tulemar before the puck drops at 6:00. I'm hoping we eat dinner in town somewhere afterwards - the Tulemar restaurant is good, but it would be nice to eat somewhere more "local" and less expensive.
I figure we'll play it by ear.
We took a taxi from Tulemar to the park, which is about 15 minutes or so away. When we arrived, we were more or less accosted by one of the "tour guides" who works there, who talked up taking a private tour for $25.00 each. At first, I admit that I was a bit dubious, but figured, what the hell, let's give it a go. And I am so glad we did.
His name is Leo, and he showed us things we would have never noticed without a guide. Odd little red crabs that live on the jungle floor, howler monkeys in the trees, a three toed sloth, fruit bats hanging from trees, lizards, birds, leaf-carrying army ants, and assorted flora used for medicine (we tasted quinine directly from a tree - that would make a great garnish in a G&T), food storage (giant leaves that felt like Saran Wrap), bandages (small plants leaves that will stick to a cut when it gets wet, and will actually infuse the cut with vitamin K).
The walk lasted about an hour, after the tour we went back to the Manuel Antonio beach and just kind of floated around in the water for a bit to unwind. Caught a cab back to Tulemar, where we had lunch that Amy got together with the groceries we bought yesterday. I made us mojitos made from local limes, mint and Costa Rican rum.
After that, Jan went back to our bungalow for a nap, and Robert and I each grabbed a beer and walked up to the lobby to hop on Blogger. Still have a nice buzz from the mojito. I think we're going to head back into Quepos a bit later to grab souvenirs.
There's another Stanley Cup game on tonight and the plan is to be back at Tulemar before the puck drops at 6:00. I'm hoping we eat dinner in town somewhere afterwards - the Tulemar restaurant is good, but it would be nice to eat somewhere more "local" and less expensive.
I figure we'll play it by ear.
posted by Mike at
2:59 PM
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