This past weekend, my classmates and I decided to travel to Manuel Antonio to do a little exploring of nature and lounge on the beach. I've decided to structure this entry around pieces of advice, or "consejos", for other travelers or for my future self if I ever make it back here.
Consejo #1: Leave early in the day
We took a bus from Heredia to San Jose at about 4:30. We arrived in San Jose at about 5:30. We were definitely unaccustomed to the big city and promptly lost our way. We were trying to find the ticket booth to buy our tickets for the 6:30 bus. We ran into a taxi driver who told us that there were no more buses to Manuel Antonio (LIE) and that we would have to take a taxi (LIE), for which he would give us a "deal" (LIE) and charge us $100 per person. He was a liar. Needless to say, we escaped that situation as quickly as possible. Granted, we look like touristy Americans but we are college educated and know when someone is trying to screw us. After about 15 minutes of aimless wandering around, we decided that we needed to ask for help. Gracias a Dios, we found this angel of a woman who took us to where we needed to go. She went completely out of her way to help us get on the bus. Without her we would have probably not found the bus and we would have been stuck in downtown San Jose after dark. Not good. I have to remember to pay it forward because that woman is a saint and possible saved our gringo lives. As for the advice, leave early so you don't get stuck in San Jose after dark and so that you can buy your ticket ahead of time. We did not have tickets but, luckily, there was space on the bus.
Consejo #2: Plan ahead or make friends on the bus
When we finally got settled on the bus, we met a couple from Kansas. They told us that this was going to be their fifth trip to Manuel Antonio. Naturally, we asked them for advice about where to stay, what to do, where to go, or any other helpful hints for navigating the park. They told us about a hostel that would cost $10 per night and was clean and told us how to get from the bus stop (in Quepos, a town 10 minutes outside of Manuel Antonio) to the hostel (also in Quepos) and from the hostel to the beach. At that moment we realized that we would have never made it to the national park in Manuel Antonio without them. All we had was our travel guide book, which is meant for people with more money than we have so none of the options were in our price range. Yet again, thank God for friendly and helpful people. For our next trip, I will definitely try to do some research about hostels in the area before we go. As for the hostels, don't expect a luxury hotel. This one was basically a big room with 7 sets of bunk beds. But it had a tv with tons of DVDs, Wi-Fi, and a pretty sweet chill spot with hammocks (which I will have on my wrap around porch of my house when I finally become a real person with big girl things), tables, chairs, a kitchen to cook food, and place to order food. It is called Vista Serena, if you want to plan on going.
Side note on the hostel: I slept with all of my things so they wouldn't get stolen. This included a plastic bag full of gummy candy. When I woke up, my bag was torn open. I'm assuming that means there was an animal in my bed. But that's okay because nothing bit me and my gummy candy didn't get eaten. WIN.
Consejo #3: Take a guided tour from park rangers
Pretty simple. When walking through the park, there are plenty of plants and animals to see. However, being pushy and impatient Americans, we probably would have trekked through the park without looking around in order to get to the beach as quickly as possible. And by "probably", I mean I definitely would have. By taking a guided tour, we were able to learn about the unique plants in the area and spot animals that we would have missed. The ranger was able to call monkeys to come very close to us, point out sloths hidden in the trees, and show us frogs and poisonous caterpillars that blended in with the leaves. As long as you make sure that the tour is guided by an employee of the park, it is definitely worth the money. This being said, you should definitely act hesitant about going because by being genuinely unsure, they brought the price down from 10 thousand colones (their form of currency) to 7 thousand colones ($20 and $14 respectively). But whatever, I'd pay any amount of money to see monkeys being all adorable in the sunshine.
Consejo #4: You are not too cool for sunscreen or bug spray
Maybe this is common sense. Maybe I'm just an idiot. But I was thinking, "well, if I can sit in a tanning bed every day, I'm totally fine on the beach without sunscreen". False. I was, and still am, quite burnt and currently peeling. Not cute. You will regret that sunburn the next day when you still have to carry your backpack everywhere. As for bug spray, use a lot of it. I sort of just sprayed around myself in no particular spot. I think that's because you don't realize how terrible bug bites are until you get one. Actually, scratch that. Until you get 22 from your knees down. So now I'm sunburned and I look like I have chickenpox.
Consejo #5: Don't put your things down
My friend left her clutch on a bench at the bus stop and didn't realize it until we got back to the hostel. By the time we went back to the bus stop, it was gone. Along with the $60 dollars, cellphone, passport copy, license, and debit card inside of it. Though some nice people helped us out before, not everyone is a Good Samaritan. Shocking.
Consejo #6: Be mindful of the wildlife
People kept telling us that the monkeys would try to steal our food, which I was actually kind of excited about because I thought it would be super cute and I could see a monkey up close. No monkeys came to the beach. Disgusting raccoons did though. The girls in my group and I were floating in the ocean, ya know, living the good life when the guy swimming next to us said "um, a raccoon just stole all of your food". We thought he was kidding so we didn't really move. He was not kidding. But whatever, so they stole some pretzels, who cares? It turns out that I care. My clutch with my debit card, money, and camera was inside of the bag that they stole. I was on the brink of a full on bitch fit when I found my clutch about 10 yards away. Thank you, glorious dirty raccoons, for discarding anything that you could not eat. Also, a guy in our group got stunk by a jellyfish. Nothing serious, just some welts. Watch out for those.
Consejo #7: Ladies, wear a sturdy bathing suit top
The waves are really strong, which makes them really fun to swim and sit in because they drag you into the ocean while pushing you out toward the shore. It's an awesome feeling. Not so awesome when I stood up and a girl in my group screamed because my boobs were out. It was my own fault because I tied my top into a tube top to avoid tan lines. Not smart.
Consejo #8: Watch out for rocks
In relation to the strong waves, watch out for where they drag you. I was having a grand ole time until I got dragged over some rocks like Parmesan over a cheese grater. Now my arm has a disgusting gash/scab. Did I mention that I am also red as a lobster with smallpox? God, I'm attractive.
Consejo #9: Buy food at a grocery store rather than eating in restaurant
It's going to be overpriced anyway but a grocery store is less overpriced than a restaurant. And in touristy places, the restaurants are REALLY overpriced.
Consejo #10: Have fun!
Yeah, I'm corny. Whatever. Actually, I just wanted to have 10 pieces of advice because 9 is a stupid number.
General info: The beaches are beautiful. Not like an all-inclusive resort where the beaches are bright white and the water is aqua blue but beautiful in a natural way. The beaches have pretty average colored sand but it's so soft. And the water is really warm. There aren't a ton of people and it's very quiet and relaxing. There are trees that create natural shade for the gringos that are concerned with skin cancer. It's a very simple paradise without all the crowded beaches of typical vacation spots. Lay in the sand and take it all in.
That's all I've got for Manuel Antonio. Go there. Pictures to come later if my internet works.
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