We started with a lovely breakfast from our Airbnb host, overlooking a valley of rainforest and rivers. We even spotted a toucan and some other birds, but were not quite quick enough for a photo.
Our host recommended a jungle walk nearby – the Carara National Park. Our next check-in was no earlier than 3pm, and being before 8 when we finished breakfast (yeah, the days somehow always start early here!) we decided to drop by and walk the full length of the park, which was estimated to be around 4 hours.
It took us a fair bit longer… We got there around 8:15 and left around 14:00. This wasn’t because the path was difficult or anything, we just took our time waiting for groups of noisy people to pass us and for nature to show itself. It was totally worth it – we spotted a LOT. As always, here is some of Manja’s amazing photography 😀
Before we get to the photos, though, take a look at these amazing little leaf-cutting ants!
 As we returned to the carpark we got a nice surprise, it was full of iguanas and Colibris!
Next we needed to find an ATM to get some more cash reserves, so we dropped by a small shopping center for the ATM and had some Subway for lunch while there. I can’t tell you why, but it tasted different to what we’re used to. Quite good, just different.
During our drive we also drove along a road which goes straight through a palm oil plantation. Which was shocking mostly because you go from rainforest to very obviously farmed (African) palms. A few hectares (at least) of rainforest must have been cleared to make space for it. Doing some research it seems that Palm oil has been a Costa-Rican staple for years, but it still shocked us to see the impact first hand. Some more info from lonely planet here.
Eventually stopped for some fuel, which was an experience. Petrol stations are full service here, and the price is government set. We drove up, got allocated to a pump where an attendant filled the car while cleaning the windscreen. We paid her in cash, the price being visible on the pump, and drove off.
Eventually we arrived in our accomodation in Quepos near Manuel Antonio. We made it at 3:05, and as we rang the doorbell there was no answer. We rang again. And Again. We were just looking up contact details when the shopkeeper of the small convenience store next door took pity on us and called the owner. She came down to the door real quick, apologising. The doorbell runs on wifi and something went wrong so it didn’t ring on her phone. We were just happy that we got in 🙃
Being pretty exhausted from the hike and drive over, we decided to take it easy tonight and use the opportunity of a laundry service to clean some of our things and re-sort our luggage. We also planned the activities for the next few days before heading down to a nearby restaurant for dinner around 17:30. Yeah… early starts and early dinners 😉. Unfortunately the place didn’t open until 18:00, so we had a drink at the bar waiting for the the restaurant to open – which happened as soon as the groceries got delivered. I ordered a typical Costa Rican dinner (Beans, Rice, a meat – fish in this case, salad and some fried banana in a maize flour coating) while Manja ordered some Quesadillas as she was still not that hungry after our late lunch. We spent the next hour chatting as we waited for our food, and we were just about to ask what was happening when I saw the delivery guy return with a bag of cheese… 2 Minutes later our food magically appeared 😂
We got back to the hotel around 8 and dropped into bed, exhausted and slightly eaten by mosquitoes which finally got us as we were waiting for dinner 😵
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