Quepos: The Jungle Beach

Today I am writing this in my bathing suit on this hot and humid winter morning in Quepos' famous Manuel Antonio beach. The tropical birds are noisily chattering while the diesel engines of the buses blend with the crushing sounds of the ocean waves. I am sitting on the balcony of my room writing and watching the ocean while Tammy and Kayla sleep of their terrible experiences last night. The ride to the beach was traitorous to be honest. We rode out of mountainous San José at the Coca-Cola; a sketchy bus stop in the sketchiest part of San José where there is garbage everywhere, paint peeling off the buildings and barbed wire on top of scrap-metal-houses. Dirty convenience stores clash with the arcades and packed roads. When the bus came I volunteered to be the odd-man-out and sit with a total stranger. It worked out pretty nice actually. I sat with Monica Ortega Materisa who often took the bus on the four hour trek between the cities. At first, talking was kind of awkward and I was more concentrating on the unique ride outside. From mountainous San José we took the bus on non-stop dangerously curvy roads around the mountains. The roads were small and only consisted of sharp turns on a deep incline...so sharp that the branches of the trees sometimes hit the windows. Unfortunately the ride turned out to be a five hour drive because of a nasty accident. This is when Monica and I bonded. She spoke no English but we got along great when we started talking about the boys behind us...and the man who's cell phone range once every 30 seconds for the whole 5 hour trip, and then just stupid stuff. We got along pretty well and laughed basically half of the time but Tammy and Kayla didn't fare as well. I am not giving the roads justice. They were so bad that Kayla puked twice and Tammy was on the verge. Monica told me a story of who one girl puked out the window and it splashed into the face of someone with the window down behind her. But we finally arrived at Hotel Manuel Antonio. Before that was school and before school was a walk down to el Museo Numismática and el museo de oro in downtown San José. It was small but kind of interesting...but even more boring, to be honest. So we left early to wonder the dreaded souvenir shops and tourist traps. Amazingly Costa Ricans don't bargain as much as the Mexicans or Moroccans. They have their price and no matter how much you bargain, charm, or just walk away, they will only go down about a dollar. So we left and went to lunch at a fancy place near the school. I got eggplant lasagna that came in its own ceramic dish with 4 garlic bread slices artfully put on the plate and decorated with spices. My meal, drink, tip, and tax ended up being about 9000 colones ($17)... I am kind of afraid to see the prices here, in Manuel Antonio, but I don't care. It's hot, the clouds are clearing, and I can see the Pacific...I'm one happy guy!


31 May 2009
Before leaving Manuel Antonio we went on a zip line and canopy tour in Quepos that blew my mind! I got strapped up in all my gear and was sent into the wilds of Costa Rica to swing from, free falling from, and zip line through trees sometimes hundreds of meters from the ground. It was scary, amazing, and hot all at the same time. It was definitely worth the $60 and I got some cool memories to bring back home. The drive there looked like I was in Jurassic park...which I heard they filmed in Costa Rica...and the zip lines were better than I thought they would be. When we got back we went back to the beach, walked around, searched for shells, and swam in the warm Pacific. When I say warm, I am not exaggerating in the least bit. It is actually somewhere between 79º and 85º. The waves get pretty big at night and there are a couple of islands that you can see from off shore that just add to the beach. It is bordered by jungle and looks like something out of Survivor. It was one of the prettiest beaches I've been to in my life. Of course, like in EVERY town I have seen in Costa Rica there is barbed wire and trash EVERYWHERE. But I've learned to deal with it and look past that. Prices are kind of high, but we found a nice Italian Gelateria where there is good gelato, panini, and pizza for a pretty decent price. All-in-all an AMAZING trip!!