Manuel Antonio

Back in San Jose, safe and sound! On Thursday afternoon, a group of us packed ourselves into a bus for the 3 or 4 hour ride to Manuel Antonio. I endured the ride next to Tina Teeny Bopper, who will be deaf by 16 because she listens to her ipod too loud. However, no problem that I forgot my music, because I listened to every top 40 hit and some classic latin tunes all the w

ay down. After a rather hair-raising ride through the mountains, fog, and crazy bridges, we arrived at paradise.

Because it's "Green Season" or the rainy season over here, hotel rates are really good, and we stayed at this lodge called Costa Verde, which I highly recommend, got our rooms, and headed straight to the pool, where I had the best pina colada ever made. The man put huge chunks of fresh pineapple in it, and I sipped away happily as I watched the sunset over the ocean from our pool and lodge in the mountains (got a good mental picture yet?). 

Friday morning, we woke up late for Costa Rican standards, at about 7:30. I walked out on my patio, and what did I see but monkeys, a sloth, and a giant iguana perched in the tree less than 20 feet away? This is when you realize what a great job CR has done in environmental preservation. 

By 9am, we were down on the beach, where I had the best banana pancakes ever. Manuel Antonio was a nice change because for once I was not the person walking around town that doesn't belong. There were plenty of Americans with huge hats, camera, and American flag T-Shirts to allow me to blend right on in with the locals. I kept catching myself try to start a conversation with a vendor in Spanish, and he would smile and me and reply in perfect English. Haha. A few of us walked down off the main part of the beach and spent the better part of the afternoon on an almost deserted stretch of beach. 

That night, we went to this restaurant called El Avion, or the Airplane Bar. Apparently a Nicaraguan plane went down by the border, and I don't really remember the whole story, but a Costa Rican ended up buying it for about $3000 and taking it piece by piece to Manuel Antonio, where he made a restaurant out of it on the hillside. So cool.

Saturday was hands down my favorite day. Most of the group went to the nature conservancy right by the beach, which is full of pristine beaches, great views, and quite a few crazy trails on the edge of the ocean. A few of us ended up spending all morning and part of the afternoon just wandering around and playing on the beaches, sneaking up on crabs, and catching pictures of the monkeys and other wildlife all over the place. We also hiked all the way around the peninsula that you can see on the top picture. The park was simply gorgeous. I've never been anywhere before where the forest so quickly turns to ocean - it never got old for me.

Saturday night, we all headed up to Ronny's, which is an outdoor restaurant with a view of pretty much the whole city, park, and beach, where I drank my drink out of a pineapple (no joke) and watched the sunset from the top of the mountain. Sunday, we had just enough time to do a little more shopping from the street vendors that line the beach every day, grab a bite, and catch the bus to Quepos, where we boarded the bus back to the city.

A perfect weekend. The destination verdict is still out for next weekend, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be another beach. After that, we'll head up to the cloud forests and volcanos, and then spend a few days on the Caribbean at Tortuguero, where we will get to see the giant turtles. I'm living an outdoor lovers dream.

By the way, I am studying here, despite what I believe may be running through many of your heads right now. We've gone on some field trips and had some great speakers from environmental NGOs, national companies, etc, which have really put the international environmental issue in perspective for me. Learning how differently an international court system operates from a national system has really made me reflect on how complicated international issues such as human rights are when they impact many nations. I won't ramble on because I'm sure a couple of you are already asleep, but proof that I am absorbing. I am especially happy at how much time we are spending on human rights issues, and how a right to a healthy environment fits right in there. I always knew I had interests in both, and now I see how they are inextricably connected.

Check out my picasaweb link on the right of the page if you haven't already! I've added some new ones!

Pura Vida