Manuel Antonio

I spent this past weekend with some friends in Manuel Antonio, which is about a 4 hour bus ride from San José, and it was great! We stayed at Pura Vida MINI Hostel so we were close to Quepos and took the public bus to Manuel Antonio to go to the beach. On Friday, we checked into our hostel and then went straight to the public beach. It was a good thing we did because after we had been there for a little while it started to rain! It was kind of cool to be on the beach and see the lightning and hear the thunder in the distance. We gathered up our stuff and went back to the hostel to cook dinner and relax for the rest of the evening. 

On Saturday, we got up early and went zip lining. It was AMAZING! We took a shuttle to a spot where they got us set up with the equipment we needed, then took the shuttle deeper into the trees to the spot where the first zip line was. There were 19 platforms and 11 zip lines, and they were each amazing! One of them was the longest zip line in Costa Rica, and then the last one was so fast they said you can get up to like 55 mph! I even went upside down on one of them, which was kind of scary but awesome. The guides were really funny and nice, and so were the other people on the tour. After zip lining we went back to the place where they gave us the equipment and they made us a traditional Costa Rican lunch of chicken, rice, beans, and maduros (friend plantains). It was delicious! Oh and I ran into a guy wearing a Seahawks shirt who was going on the next tour so I asked him if he was from Seattle and he said he was so we chatted a little about that. Small world! :)

After zip lining we went to Manuel Antonio National Park where you have to pay $10 to get in but it's definitely worth it. The beach we went to was beautiful! There were monkeys jumping around in the trees and pelicans flying over the water, and the water was warm and perfect for swimming. We hung out there for the afternoon before heading back toward Quepos and stopping at El Avión for dinner. It's a restaurant that has an airplane built into it, so you walk under the wings to go in, through the body of the airplane to go to the bar, and they send food up to the waiters in a fuselage. The view was the best part because the restaurant is high up above the water and on the edge of a cliff so all you can see is the forest and the ocean.

I can't believe this is my last week in Costa Rica! I don't want to leave!