weekends are for the warriors.

As promised, a few vignettes about Manuel Antonio & Tarcoles!

Manuel Antonio

Getting there:

We took a "Directo" bus to Manuel Antonio from the TRACOPA Bus Terminal in San Jose. It took about 3-3.5 hours and it dropped us off right in front of our hostel! 

On the way back, I took a bus from in front of my hostel (came every 15 min) down to Quepos (only about a 10 min ride)- then, I just got a direct bus back to San Jose! It only took about 2 hours on Sunday morning to get back to Santa Ana. I was pleasantly surprised! 

We stayed at Backpackers Hostel: Manuel Antonio.

So, to be nice, this was probably not the nicest hostel that I've ever stayed at. We had to walk through one room to get to ours and it was pretty crowded. But it was a bed...and a free breakfast! Don't be too quickly deceived though, it was only some really weird pancakes. 

We visited Manuel Antonio National Park.

Ok so we did something that maybe wasn't exactly ethical. Suzanne's cousin (while Dutch) was born in Costa Rica and is technically a native Tico. So, he bought our tickets for the park and we scored a discounted rate into the park! 

Some wildlife that we spotted-- (not pictured: the raccoon that stole David's 'bizcochos'/chips)! 

The beaches were fab. The first beach that we came to: Playa Manuel Antonio had this crystal clear blue water and not many waves. However, there were more people here than at the other since it was so incredible. 

This is the second beach that we came to while walking through the park: Playa Espadilla Sur. 

We basically had a private beach here! This is where we found a big iguana family.

And last, after we let the park, we came to Play Espadilla. Filled with lots of Ticos & not quite as serene. It is my suggestion that you stay inside the park for as long as you can! Bring food and drinks as there are no restaurants or vendors in the park. 

While I enjoyed the beaches immensely, I will probably spend more time hiking through the park the next time that I go!

Oh yeah, and I scored this sarong at the local market!
Click HERE for all the ways to wear a sarong. 

Tarcoles

Getting there:

This was a day trip from San Jose that we took last weekend. We took a bus to San Jose & asked for tickets on a "Directo" bus to Jaco Beach. Much to our dismay, apparently there was no "Directo" bus that day. I still have no idea why. 

Thus, we decided to haggle for a taxi price to take us to Tarcoles (about 20-30 min closer to San Jose than Jaco Beach). We found the cheapest price around ($40) and went for it. Fortunately for us, instead of having to wait in the dark and in the rain for a bus that may or may not have come...we met some really nice people while there who gave us a ride home! 

We went on the Crocodile Man Tour:

This was too cool! This tour was in a medium sized speedboat on the Tarcoles River. 

Only downside- I wish we had gone into the jungle a little bit more...and we got caught in a thunderstorm on our way out of the river (hello, rainy season!)

 However, the tour guides were really fun AND knowledgeable. But... maybe a little too knowledgeable about the birds.. we were there for the crocodiles after all!  

Check out some of the cool things that we experienced! 

look at those eyes!

holding a 4 week old crocodile! 

cocodrilo bebe.

then we ate this baby gator for dinner. go dawgs. (just kidding)