Manual Antonio - Crazy Monkeys, Pretty Beaches

Picture 1- Studs on the beach

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Picture 2- Lizards lounging

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Picture 3- Tiny Mushrooms in the Forest

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Picture 4- Squirell Monkeys - Sound like birds

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Picture 5- White Faced Monkey Hanging Out

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Picture 6- Sloth climbing back up the tree

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Picture 7- Another White Faced Monkey

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Picture 8- Spider

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Picture 9- Red Mushrooms

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Picture 10- Secluded Beach in Manuel Antonio Park

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Picture 11- Manuel Antonio Beach
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We rented a private room with two double beds, air conditioning, hot water and cable TV. It had been awhile since we had had such luxury. Since we were all pooped we all were drawn into watching the surfing movie “Blue Crush” with English subtitles. With the go-go pace we’d been keeping it was a nice treat. We then treated ourselves to a more expensive dinner on the beach front. The next day I was still very sick and so Tanya, Jason and Scott went out for some food while I stayed to rest. That day we decided to spend some time at the public beach “Espadilla” in Manual Antonio. Jason rented a surf board and tried to get some more surfing in and we all did some wave jumping. That night and every meal from that moment on we ate at a hostel called Backpackers Paradise Casa Linda as the food was really good, reasonably priced and had free coffee and tea. The breakfasts there were three dollars and came with a large plate of fruit, a pancake, rice and beans, and scrambled eggs! They also had huge fresh fruit smoothies for $1.50. The next day we decided to do some hiking and beach visiting within the Manual Antonio National Park. Some of the park was closed but we were able to see three of the beaches within the park and a lot of animals. We were lucky enough to see a sloth climb all the way from the ground up a tree, which does not happen often. They only come down to the ground every couple of days to go the bathroom. We also were invaded by a group of white face monkeys who were more brave than wild monkeys, as every so often they would dart down and steal peoples food, items etc. I saw them snatch a package of cookies from a little girl, and Jason said he saw one playing around with a women’s bra in the trees. It seems funny, but it really is too bad that this is what happens when people feed monkeys. We also saw many lizards up close and personal. Jason and Tanya also got to see an animal that looked like a small mouse/kangaroo??? The beaches within the park were some of the prettiest that we have ever seen which made the $10 entrance fee well worth it. The jungle, mangroves, white sand, and blue water was beautiful. On our way back to the room Scott and I ran into a group of squirrel monkeys which are more of a caramel colour with a white face. They are smaller and make noises that sound like birds chirping. Then we headed down to the beach for the sunset and an early evening as we were taking a 5:00 AM bus the next day to a cocoa farm outside of a small community called Mastetal, which is about two hours southwest of San Jose.