Buenas todos! First, this picture is of Manuel Antonio beach, which is a little more touristy, but still beautiful; I will get into it more a little later. This past weekend, my friends and I finally went to one of the prettiest beaches in all of Costa Rica…Manuel Antonio. Where do I even start? My friends and I booked an AirBnB this weekend because we had a few more people and having our own house sounded like fun. However, it was like a 15-20 minute walk to the bus station. Let me also explain that the beach is indeed Manuel Antonio, but it is very expensive to stay in Manuel Antonio, so all of us who went to Manuel Antonio this weekend stayed in the town nearby called Quepos. It is a cute little town, and it has a bus right to Manuel Antonio beaches. So, when we wanted to leave for the beach, we had a 15-20 minute walk, then a wait for the bus to the beach, then ride the bus, and then we were there. It required a little more effort, and it was blistering hot, but I think my friends and I are beginning to adapt to the Pura Vida lifestyle. The AirBnB was also really fun because we basically had an entire house to just mess around and no neighbors to really worry about. Additionally, the language barrier was not a barrier this time because one of our friends had been there before, however, if she hadn’t told us what to do we definitely would have been at least a little lost. While in San Jose, the language barrier isn’t too scary, but when we are traveling it definitely puts a little more stress on us.
Anyway, the bus from Quepos to Manuel Antonio dropped us off at definitely a more touristy spot on the beach, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The sand was white, the water was as blue and clear as I have ever seen (but remember, I’ve really only seen New Jersey beaches, so definitely not crystal clear, but still wonderful). The waves were beautiful, the weather was fantastic and it was just so wonderful. We stayed until a little before sunset, and then headed home where one of our friends cooked a nice spaghetti dinner, and then we watched a movie and went to bed.
The next day, we of course did the beach again, and I was able to go parasailing with my friends which was SO COOL. I highly recommend it because it takes you over the water and you have a great view of the beach and the forest and just wow. It gives you a new perspective of where you are, and I had a little moment while we were up there. This experience has opened my eyes to so many experiences, and I am so fortunate to have been able to learn from my peers, my family, and from the country of San Jose. I’ve been saying wow a lot, but it was just so beautiful and so much fun.
I highly recommend going to Manuel Antonio if you have the chance. I didn’t get to explore the rainforest, but my friends were able to and gave it a 10/10, so I definitely missed out, but I recommend to make time for it! Otherwise, the beach is still great and we were able to see monkeys near the beach looking for food and just leaping from tree to tree, which was so cool because please tell me the last time I would’ve seen a wild monkey leaping from tree to tree in Philadelphia.
Costa Rica just has such rich and wonderful spots for beaching, exploring, and learning. 100% recommend this trip to everyone/anyone looking to explore another culture and get out of the hustle and bustle of the United States and more into the Pura Vida way of life. Ciao for now!
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