and aimed to be at the park by 8. Kellie had us fall for an april fool’s joke, as she claimed with a serious and freaked out expression that she had found a snake in the room. We had a quick breakfast and stopped by the bakery to get some pastries and sandwiches for lunch, as well as picking up water, since there are no facilities in the park. My bus was leaving in the afternoon, so I knew I only had half a day in the park itself, but I had already been there two months prior. We walked on the beach, crossed the small stream, then continued walking on the path for only a few minutes before we arrived at the entrance. While waiting in line to pay the admission fee, an iguana passed right by our feet, spooked by the tourists on the beach and their flashes (who uses
a flash on a sunny day???), and then ran off into the forest for some peace and quiet. Once we entered the park, we followed the path until we reached a fork in the road. I stopped along the way to take some pictures (no flash, lol) and to read the plaques to learn about the trees and the fauna in the park. We took the path towards the main beach, the one with the leaning palm tree that is seen in almost every postcard from here. We didn’t see any monkeys, though there was a sloth high up in the trees at one point, no doubt sleeping as it does for the vast majority of every day. Even though we didn’t pay for a profession guide in the park, it is easy to identify where the animals based on where the groups are
huddled. Off the main path, we headed towards Punto Escondido, stopping along the way at what I dubbed ‘crab beach’, though the official name escapes me now. Last time I was here there were so many hermit crabs that I tried my best not to step on them, but this time, though the holes were there, they were nowhere to be seen. We did see a few iguanas, who didn’t mind us getting closer to them to take pictures. After a walk over the rocks to an even smaller beach, with yet another iguana, we got back on the path and continued through the forest. Along the way, we saw a few capuchin monkeys, and stopped for a while to admire as they were jumping from branch to branch. We got to the mirador point, and
after a brief break and much needed water, we retraced our steps back to the fork in the road. Here is where our group split up, with most going towards mirador playa 
and promptly jumped in the water, which was warm as soup and very clear – definitely a good snorkeling spot. We were soon joined by the rest and spent our last few hours together hanging by the beach.
Eric found himself a pair of swimming goggles, and we each took turns trying them on, but we had little luck in seeing a lot of fish – for good snorkeling you have to go further out from where all the people are swimming. We returned to the beach and found some shade to get away from the direct sunlight, and settled down to read. About ten minutes later, a guy stopped by to inform us that we were
under a Manchineel tree, one of the most poisonous ones in the country, where not only its fruit and leaves are toxic, even the sap from it can irritate the skin. I did see these trees at the entrance of the park and I had read the warnings, but it didn’t even cross my mind to think about that when we settled in. We thanked him and promptly moved away; after another swim, I found a spot where I could sit on a tree trunk and continued reading. Next thing I know a capuchin monkey is right beside me, and walking even closer. I snuck away to grab my camera, and then realized what brought it over – Kellie had just finished eating an apple, and threw away the core. It is organic ‘trash’ so no harm done to the environment, but for the monkey, that was lunch. After grabbing the apple core, it moved further up in a tree to savour its meal; I soon realized that this is the decoy monkey, whose role is distract the tourists so that the others can sneak up and start searching bags. What followed was a good twenty minutes or half an hour of what I can only describe as a ‘nature paparazzi frenzy’. A whole group of us followed the monkeys, taking pictures and videos, and amusing ourselves as the occasional tourist got into a tug-of-war with one of them over a
t-shirt or beach towel. Monkeys here are very used to people, and they are experts at opening zippers and ruffling through our belongings; I was even cautioned to keep my bag close to me – I replied that there was no food in there, but I learned that since the bag itself came from the bakery Musanni, the monkeys had learned to recognize the logo. In the process of following the monkeys, we managed to spook an iguana, who started running away from the group, and in returned spooked people as it made its way further down on the beach. Once their ‘attack’ was over, the group of monkeys disappeared into the trees almost as fast as their entrance. We returned to our beach spot and needless to say the conversation revolved around what we had just seen an on how lucky we were to see them so close up.
As the saying goes, ‘all good things must come to an end’, so as it went past 1 o’clock, I started the painful goodbyes… I have been traveling with Dana and Paula for almost two weeks, as for
Kellie and Eric, I have been with them off and on through three different countries and we have known each other for over a month, a lifetime when it comes to travel. With hugs and kisses, we promised to keep in touch and share pictures whenever we got back. They were still spending another day in Manuel Antonio, while I had a bus to catch to return to Alajuela that evening. I took the walk towards the exit to the park, all the time reflecting on how much time I had actually spent with these friends and how I will be missing them. I went through the exit and headed back to Costa Linda, running half the time (which is surprisingly difficult in flip flops), and got there in time to finish packing and go to the bus stop. One thing I can say is that buses in Costa Rica, especially the direct ones, respect their
schedules; not only that, but I had an assigned seat, this time much closer to the front than my trip to Puerto Viejo. We left right on time, passed through Quepos and Parrita, by which point the bus filled up. I read most of the ride to Alajuela, though I stopped for a while to admire the scenery as we approached Jaco, but seeing the high rise condominiums and hotels, I was instantly reminded why I never liked this place to begin with. After a quick stop at a soda to grab a bite to eat or something cold to drink, the driver made the sign of the cross and then we headed into the mountains. I was racing to finish my book by the time I arrived at the airport, and managed to do it just in time. I wasn’t the only one to get off there, grabbed my bag and then patiently waited for the bus to take me into town. It was already getting dark, and I was anxious to get back to the hotel, since I had so many things with me (trying to avoid traveling at night as much as possible). I got back to Hotel Paradise Alajuela, met a nice dutch couple who
were at the end of the trip, and chatted with them for a bit as I was checking in. I was able to get my ‘usual’ room, grabbed my duffle bag, and made a quick trip into town before it got too late. Once reunited with my laptop, I spent the evening typing up blog entries and chatting on skype. I called my friend Donna, who was arriving to visit the next afternoon, and decided to play my own april fool’s joke. I pretended that I missed my bus, that I was still in Manuel Antonio, and would not return until the evening the following day. Despite the prospect of being in a new country and waiting at the airport for several hours, she was un-phased by that, so I had to admit that my joke failed miserably. I spent the rest of the evening wasting time on the internet, which always happens when you are free access to it, and started getting ready for the road trip the following day.
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