The Ticos's motto here is "Pura Vida," but on the 4 hour bus ride to Manuel Antonio from San Jose, I observed a lot of poverty that did not seem like the "good life" to me. While we were in San Jose, I walked over a homeless person sleeping under a trash bag without even noticing him. My friend only noticed him because his toes were sticking out. It's hard to believe that in the midst of so much natural beauty, there is still so much hardship. I wonder how we can evenly distribute the world’s resources so that there aren't such huge gaps...
Once we reached Manuel Antonio, we decided to stay at a hostel called Pura Vida...a good decision! We got great service: a free ride to the hostel, the two fine looking gentlemen carried our bags to our room, and the room was much cleaner than Tranquilo Backpackers. The hostel is located on a hill, surrounded by greenery and palm trees.
Yesterday morning we ventured further into Manuel Antonio to Playa Biezans, which was recommended by one of the employees at Pura Vida. To get to the beach, we descended a trail that cut through what looked like a jungle, and passed a small cabin with the common (in this area) tin rooftops and chickens. I love all the chickens here. Anyway, when we reached the beach, it took my breath away. I have been to many beaches, but none like this. Since a picture is worth a thousand words:
We heard lots of English at the beach but also heard French and Spanish. So I got to speak all three in one day! We had so much fun: exploring coves, burying ourselves in the sand, playing beach ball, and paddling around in a kayak:
After the beach, we rested a bit at the hostel and then ate dinner at an elegant restaurant along the side of the street in downtown Quepos. We discovered that even Italian food is better here and that a mango streudel is an amazing desert! Later, I danced to Salsa music played by a live band at a place called Bambu Jam and I loved getting to experience some of the night life here.
The next day, we took a break from the beach (since I am thoroughly sunburned) and joined MidWorld tours for a tour of the rainforest canopy via 15 zip-lines. I had never zip-lined before and it sure was an adrenaline rush to look down and see the lush, dense rainforest canopy flying by around me and beneath me.
We even saw a mother sloth and her baby. I was disappointed that we didn't see monkeys or toucans, but there is time for that yet. :) Then they fed us a traditional meal: fish or chicken with rice and beans, picadillo, salsa, and salad (like shredded red cabbage with tomatoes and cucumbers). Evelyn and I were the only ones on our tours, so it was like our own VIP tour! And the tour guides were fun to joke with: we talked (in English and in Spanish) about their favorite music, what they liked to do for fun, if they knew about the US's war in the middle East (which they didn't...Costa Rica having no army and being as pacifistic as they are...and good for them), and they sang us a bit of Ranchero music in exchange for a bit of the Mariachi songs I know. Tomorrow we are off to Jacos and Playa Hermosa and a new adventure!
Just checking to see if I can post a comment. I changed browsers in an attempt to get it to work.
ReplyDeleteYes, it works with IE8, but not with Firefox 5! Wonder why.
I hope all continues to go well! Keep your wits about you. We enjoy your posts. Enjoy your adventure! In the meantime, I'll be puttering around the garden, typing posts on forums, riding my bike to garage sales, etc. (Same old stuff, no zip-lines handy to try out.)