Costa Rica: Day 5

I slept through the night like last night was the first night I’ve ever been granted to do so. My sleep tracking app flat-lined from about 9:30PM until 5AM this morning and I woke up feeling like a new human being. Coffee on the porch and breakfast before we packed up and loaded the bus for the beach and just when I thought I couldn’t sleep anymore…I slept on the bus most of the way here.

We made a stop about half way between Monteverde and Quepos; a small smoothie shop on the side of the road. Today’s blend? Pura Vida; fresh local pineapple, mango and passion fruit with some kind of a secret ‘sour sauce’ - holy delicious. Half a dozen Scarlet Macaws sat in the trees above us while we waited; these beautiful birds live to be about 80 years old, constantly arguing and playing with each other and while they are no longer believed to mate for life, they are now known to grieve for about a year before they look for a new partner. Believe it or not, the smoothies and birds were not the reason we made the stop. Jeff rallied the troops and we headed across a rickety, but very well trafficked, bridge to find 18 American Saltwater Crocodiles in the middle of the river. Like many other species, these never stop growing with age; up to about 7 meters long and 70 years of life, there were all sizes…including a little baby that was allegedly named “Godzilla” by the locals. Insert wild story…Jeff told us that a few weeks back, there were 2 nature workers out drinking on the rivers edge after a long day and, upon losing a bet, one of the workers had to try and swim across the river. You can imagine how that ended. That being said…we enjoyed the view from above and scampered back to the bus to continue our way to the beach.

Our rooms weren’t quite ready when we arrived in town so we continued on to lunch at the Marlin Cafe down on the beach. Today’s fish tacos featured sea bass and they were a perfect start on my quest to eat all of the seafood the next 48 hours. I couldn’t help but laugh that sea bass is considered one of their ‘lower-end’ fish here. Marlin is sought after, but rare, lobster is plentiful and red snapper can be found on almost every menu.

We had the afternoon free at Manuel Antonio’s public beach. The water was warm, the caipirinas (con Guaro) were plentiful and I opted to stay until after sunset with a few others before heading back into town to check in to our rooms and head to dinner with the group. La Cocina was our stop for tonight; with hardly enough space to fit our group, Jeff knew the owner/chef and we were treated to yet another incredible authentic Costa Rican meal.

Tomorrow starts at 6:30AM for our guided nature tour at Manual Antonio National Park to beat the heat, followed by another free afternoon. I love that the trip started with intense adventures and physical exertion and we’re going to close it out with ultimate relaxation.

Catch me looking for real estate while I’m here.

Until then… Pura Vida!