I arrived on a Friday evening, at about 9:30pm. I Deplaned, passed the Boarder Agent, and proceeded past the annoyed Customs Agent with my gathered my luggage. There was a row of car rental agencies just outside the terminal, but I didn't see Avis.. "Muchacho! Can I help you?" It was a Hertz employee, who politely informed me that I would have to wait for the Avis bus outside by their sign. I thanked him and, sure enough, an Avis van pulled up. By the time I arrived at the car rental site, my car was outside ready to go. A few signatures later and I was off to my hotel. It was about 10:30 by the time I arrived at Hyatt Place San Jose/Pinares.
Adventure #1 From jet setting to road tripping. 7 of my co-workers and I met up in the lobby the next morning at 7:00AM to head to Manuel Antonio National Park. In a straight shot, it would take about 3 and a half hours to get there – but of course we stopped at tourist traps. First was in Coyolar at a fruit stand called Frutas La Amistad. The fruits were picked fresh, and any fruit you weren’t sure about, free samples were given without even asking. We settled for some large coconuts that were cut on spot and straws poked into them. After about 15 minutes or so, we hopped back on the road.
Next up: crocodiles. Massive, 18-feet crocodiles. We stopped just before the beginning of a bridge crossing the River Tarcoles. We followed the crowds onto the bridge and walked about midway. Down below were easily 20-30 of them sunbathing and perfectly still. I couldn't tell if they were just resting, or patiently waiting for some food to pass by to snag. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to stop and check them out.
30 more minutes of driving through winding roads that cut through hillsides and we ended up in Jaco Beach. We figured it would be best to stop here and grab something to eat since it didn’t look like there were many other main cities ahead (Note: there are plenty of food spots near Manuel Antonio!). Wherever you go to eat (they have it everywhere), make sure you try the Limonada de menta verde [lemonade with spearmint]. It doesn’t sound great, but trust. After we finished, we head back to where we parked. Now, when we arrived we were looking for an open parking spot. An elderly man in a neon yellow with reflectors traffic vest showed up and guided us to an open spot. Now when we were trying to leave, he kept asking for a tip. I tried 100 Colones at first, but nope. 200? Not good enough. I handed the man 300 Colones, and it frustrated the man. He grabs my hand, gives me the money back, and asked I give him at least 500 colones (which is just shy of $1 USD). Apparently, its customary to tip at least 500 Colones to someone who helps you park. If you ever go, remember this. Don’t make it awkward by not knowing!
Around the corner from Jaco, there is a turn out called Mirador de Jaco. We stopped there for some awesome views of the coastline. Just make sure you don’t go up in flip flops, or you may have a tough time coming down.
Okay, enough stops. An hour straight drive down the Pacific Coast to Manuel Antonio National Park. It was 3:00PM by the time we arrived. The park rangers informed us we had about an hour before the park would close. We quickly paid the $16 entrance fee, and power walked to the beach. It took us about 20 minutes to get there, but felt like an hour. You have to cut through a rainforest, which had about 98% humidity! There were three-toed sloths sleeping in the trees, bright-red crabs rearing their heads from their pot holes, white-faced monkeys swinging from the trees, and raccoons combing the beach side. By the time we reached the beach, it was either be wet from your sweat, or be wet from the ocean water. It was a nice beach, don’t get me wrong, – warm waters for being on the Pacific - but all the hype made it anticlimactic. Maybe it was the out-of-nowhere overcast, or shortness of time; but this side of the beach was like any other beach.
Nearly an hour passed before the Park Rangers began enforcing the park closure times. Alex, the local of our group, remembered a spot where you can actually drive onto the beach. We made our way back, parked our rental on the side of some road, hopped in his 4x4, and drove down a rocky road which spat us out feet away from the waves. You could see parasailers in the distance, surfers catching the last few waves in the sunlight, families picnicking, and a man selling postres out of an igloo on wheels. We were able to catch the sunset and all. Picture perfect. Now this side was nice.
On our way back we tried stopping in the beautiful (and apparently affluent) town of Quepos, but after an incident with bugs being in the milk at Runaway Grill, we decided against it. The if-you-had- and where-do-you-see-yourself- like postulations helped ease the drive back.
By 11:30pm, I was back at the hotel knocked out.
0 Comments
|
AuthorThis is the world through my lens. Categories
All
Archives
November 2017
|