gpkbrand

Our drive from Arenal area to Manuel Antonio was great - we ended up driving on the new highway (which was wonderful - nice smooth road - a bit longer mileage wise but worth it to us.) We stopped along the way to enjoy the views and of course checked out the crocs at Tarcoles. I stayed with the car as we had all our luggage and I had seen them before. We arrived at our hotel (Mango Moon) early and we fortunate to be able to check-in.
The owners of Mango Moon are still in the process of making a few changes but this did not affect our stay. We rented two rooms on the top of the main building. This gave us a private balcony overlooking the grounds and wonderful views of the ocean.
After relaxing a bit, we checked out the public beach and stopped at the grocery for supplies. We decided to eat at the hotel that night and turn in early as we had arranged for an early tour of Manuel Antonio with Juan Brenes.
We woke to loud noises on the roof. A quite rambunctous capuchin monkey troop was passing through. They were fun to watch and seemed to be curious about us as they leaned over the roof to check us out. After breakfast at the hotel we met Juan as planned. It was quite busy in the park. (I had forgotten that the park was closed on Mondays and that Tuesday is busy due to this fact.)
Manuel Antonio is a wonderful park in which to view wildlife - especially with a guide. Juan knows where to look. At the entrance we were delighted to see our first sloth hanging in plain view. A great way to start our tour! We were able to see toucans, sloths, squirrel and whitefaced monkeys, deer, jesus lizards, a turtle, several nighthawks, redeyed frog, and more. Manuel Antonio has such a wonderful range of wildlife and is so easily accessible. If you have a camera most guides will take pictures through their scope so you can get neat close-ups. At our stop at the beach, Juan had fresh pineapple and cookies as a treat. (The fruit in Costa Rica is so yummy and fresh. I loved it all! The fresh mango, pineapple, canteloupe and other melons are unbelievable.)
After our tour we exited the park via a small rowboat across a creek. Our plan was to return to the park or beach later. We stopped for lunch at a hotdog restaurant (Frank's or something like that.) Then back to the hotel to relax a bit. We ended up staying at the hotel and swimming and just laying around. Lazy vacation mode had set-in!
As nightfall was approaching and we were hungry, we gather ourselves and readied for dinner. The restaurant we chose served grilled fish and meat. (sorry but the name escapes me!) It was on the main road to Manuel Antonio park. Very good food and great waiters.
I need to get a few things done around the house but will post more in the next few days.

volcanogirl

Sounds like you had fun!

hipvirgochick

Hi gpk -- Thanks for posting your trip report! I noticed you are posting your report in different threads. For the ease of reading and following your trip, it would be helpful to have all on one thread. Just a suggestion! Thanks.

gpkbrand

Thanks hipvirgochick for the suggestion.

The next day we met up with an uncle of mine who was visiting friends about an hour away. We had lunch at Si Como No. We were fortunate that two members of our party were Costarican and they ordered off the menu for us. The food was wonderful and the grounds at Si Como No quite lovely. (In fact next time we might try staying there - although my husband like a tv to keep up on sports.)
Later we drove to the Dominical beaches and hung out. (One of our friends had injured his ankle which ruled out too much activity.)
Back at the hotel that evening we had drinks with the owners and then packed for our drive back to San Jose.
The drive back to SJO was uneventful and we wished our friends didn't have to depart in the morning.
We stayed at a B&B that was not to our liking - roosters, traffic and dogs barking all night weren't what we had hoped for.
From here my husband and I were heading down to Osa Peninsula. I had read quite a bit about how awful the roads were but we were pleasantly surprised - driving both over the mountains and along the coast back were much easier than expected. The bridges are still being replaced down in Osa and there are potholes but not as awful as some have decribed.
This was our first experience with the South Pacific area of CR. It was fabulous. A less hectic, slower paced style. We did a one day hike in Corcovado Park with a guide, hung out in town with new CR friends, walked the beach by our lodge and visited a wildlife sanctuary. The food in town was very good - ate at an Italian and Chinese restaurant as a change from CR food a couple nights.
We stayed at Yellow Coco Lodge - difficult to find at first but quiet and secluded. It took a night or two to get used to sleeping with screens on the windows and noises in the dark.
Am trying to convince my husband to return and hike through Corcovado - and we'd like to do a bit of fishing.
Our drive back to Alajuela took roughly 8 hours with a couple stops and lunch.
Our last night was spent a pleasant little Hotel named Pura Vida. It tucked away up the hill from town. The grounds and rooms are buffered from street noise on the other side of the wall.
Thanks to all who have posted on this site for information that helped make our trip so special.

socialworker

Hi, so glad you had a good trip! If you can stand one more suggestion re: posting.....putting breaks between paragraphs makes it easier to read a report.