Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, Samara and Tamarindo

So, Costa Rica. The country is different from Guatemala though the differences are not that huge. Hotter women and a hotter coastal climate are the two big things that come to mind. The pura vida lifestyle is very apparent as the people are, for the most part, layed back and easy going. As with Guatemala the people are very friendly and helpful especially if you attempt to speak to them in spanish.

Manuel Antonio/Quepos was the first destination after landing in San Jose (a typical large developing nation type city). We arrived after a 5 or so hour bus ride with the only real highlight being when we crashed into one of the rest stop buildings because the driver couldnt get the bus into reverse. By the time we got to Quepos it was pretty late so we focused on finding a place to stay and grabbing dinner. We spent the next 5 days lounging on the beaches of Manuel Antonio (6km from Quepos) mostly though on the last day there we did go on a hike though the national park near the beach. The park was pretty packed with animals including sloths, spider monkies, small deer, iguanas, bats, spiders and so on. The real highlight of the area came as a complete surprise while waiting for a bus from Quepos to Manuel Anotonio. We were standing in line when out of no where Ally, a friend from Humbold that I went to highschool with, pops up and says hello. It was a total shock to say the least. Turns out she is living in Manuel Antonio working for tour agency. After the greeting we proceded to go out and get compleatly smashed at the main dance club in town. That was about it. Prople looking for a beautiful beach, relaxed environment and a lot of gringos will love this area.

Olga flew out on the 18th and I am now cruising solo up toward Nicaragua. The day she caught her plain I jumped on a bus and headed north to Monteverde. After 5 days or so in the coastal heat and humidity of the coast, this cool mountain town surrounded by cloud forests was exactly what I needed. The area is basically one big reserve. I sent the next two days hiking, taking a night tour through a portion of the reserve and going on the craziest zip line tour of my life. The forest was beautiful and the animals were cool but the zip line was probably the highlight. The views from the lines were great and the lines themselves were increadibly long. The larget one was 1km long and 540 feet hight.


While in Monteverde I was talked into going to Montezuma. I randomly met two women who were heading in that direction to a beach north of Montezuma so decided to avoid three busses and 7 hours of transportion and go with them. Unfortuantly The town we went to, Samara, didnt even have access to Montezuma unless I was to back track via several buses which would have taken forever. I spent one night there and then opted to head north to Tamarindo today, a well known party town, instead. On the bus I met a girl from Ventura that went to college in Humbilt. More proof that it is indeed a very small world. I am now off to explore and see what there is to see here. Ill add pictures at some point but dont have the cables with me. Laters