Angie arrived on a shuttle from San Jose a little before noon on 4/29. She had about an hour to catch-up with Allan before he started his trip back to San Jose before his flight home on 5/1. He left us a day earlier than planned because his phone had stopped working after he filmed a short video in the pouring rain a couple days ago. He wanted to make sure he had a cushion in case something went wrong. Luckily he was able to get his phone fixed once he got to San Jose.
Angie and I spent the first day relaxing by the pool and had dinner at Agua Azul, the restaurant next to our Airbnb. The food was very good. We were also pleasantly surprised by the pool as it is much nicer in person than the pictures suggest. We made a habit of spending some time at the pool each afternoon after our daily activity.
The first day we walked down to the beach (Playa Playitas), along the beach toward Manuel Antonio and then back up the hill to our condo. We should have taken the bus back as the heat and hill were too much for Angie. I, too, was very hot, but since I’ve been walking for two weeks in this weather, I am more acclimated than Angie.
On Wednesday, May 1, we went to Manuel Antonio National Park. We booked an early morning tour through Airbnb with Waaco tours and were very happy that we did. The guide was very knowledgeable and we saw way more animals and learned about plants and animals that added so much to the visit. It was hot and humid even first thing in the morning and the park was crowded with people. We both enjoyed a quick swim at Manuel Antonio beach, though I was more bothered by all the people than Angie. Here are some pictures from the visit. The closeups are taken through the guides spotting scope, a real game-changer for seeing things up close.
On Thursday May 2, we are getting a rental car and driving up to Monteverde. I saw a toucan while drinking my morning coffee and called Angie out to see it as she hadn’t seen one yet. It was too far away for a phone photo, but as we were watching it we were treated to two mom and baby white-faced capuchin monkeys walking across the roof. And as I type this, a pair of scarlet Macaws flew by. We see them each morning and evening, but haven’t been able to get a photo.