Costa Rica - Day 2

Travel Day

Manuel Antonio 

January 12, 2015

On our second day in Costa Rica, we traveled from our hotel outside of San Jose to a hotel we booked in Manuel Antonio. It took us a few hours and a few stops before we got there, but once there, we were welcomed by a nice, private cabina situation on the very top of a hill overlooking the ocean and luscious gardens on the property. We had to climb many, many steep and narrow stairs through the gardens to get to our cabina. Our cabina was simple, with two beds, a small kitchenette, a bathroom and a patio. Outside our front door, we were greeted every time we returned by two iguana's, the same ones. One of the iguana's was bigger and more social than the other. It really took a liking to Esperanza, and Esperanza seemed to understand it and enjoy it as well. They would sit outside, facing each other, bobbing heads in rhythm with one another. It was pretty fascinating. 

The first evening we were there, we walked down the stairs and crossed the street to the other side of the property grounds where there was a pool, restaurant and access to the beach. Along the first walk down the stairs, we met some monkeys, one of which welcomed us to the place by defecating on the sidewalk right in front of us. By the time we made it to the ocean, it was early evening and the sun was going down but the kids played in the ocean until almost dark. After getting them out of the ocean, they took a dip in the pool. From there, we spent our first of 3 wonderful nights in our cabina.

Pictures of Day 2 of Costa Rica traveling to and in Manuel Antonio

Crocodiles Crossing In Costa Rica

Before we left to Costa Rica, I did a lot of research and planning to get ideas on fun family things to see and do. One blog post I came across was ranting and raving about a bridge with wild crocodiles hanging out under it. 

I didn't add the crocodile crossing to my list of things go out of our way to see while there, and didn't even go as far as to remember where it even was, but as we were driving to Manuel Antonio from San Jose, we crossed a bridge and I immediately recognized it from pictures I had seen on the blog post. There was even a sign indicating that there could be crocodiles crossing the road. Armando thought I was a little crazy for wanting to go check it out, and Esperanza was in a terrible mood, screaming and crying and refusing to get out of the car. So Ezra and I walked out to the bridge and we were immediately astonished at the view we had. DOZENS of big, huge, real and wild crocodiles were just hanging out under us. It was amazing! 

Armando and Esperanza didn't get to see them that day, but we knew we would be crossing the bridge again in a few days, and we'd try again then. After our unforgettable adventures in Manuel Antonio, we headed north and crossed the bridge again and this time we all got out to see the crocodiles laying beneath the bridge, some of them in the water, most of them basking in the sun...just waiting for a little kid to fall down to them. It was clearly a touristy type of attraction, as many other people were walking across the narrow bridge and taking pictures.

There was a little store near the bridge where we used the restroom and bought a few snacks. The kids each bought a necklace from a vendor on the side of the road as well. Esperanza got one with a small carved wooden crocodile, and Ezra got a crocodile tooth. The man said crocodile teeth bring good luck. I couldn't help but feel squeemish wondering how in the heck they got the teeth from the crocodile. A few days later, the crocodile tooth necklace was lost.

Costa Rica - Day 1

January 10, 2015 - leave Portland

January 11, 2015 - arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica

Day 1 in Costa Rica

Our big family adventure began with a red-eye flight from Portland, OR to San Jose, Costa Rica, with one stop in between. The flight was, as expected, horrible. The plane was packed, no one could sleep and we were all beyond exhausted by the time we landed. Somehow we made it through customs, got our luggage and took a bus to the car rental place where we spent the next couple of hours haggling with by a car rental company where we thought we had a solid price for a rental. Eventually we left and found a different hassle free rental car company, got our car and headed on our way. 

We found our hotel, but couldn't check in until later in the afternoon. We hit up a farmers market, got some fruit and then drove around for a couple of hours to get acquainted with the area. Back at the hotel we were able to use the pool and relax for a bit while they got our room ready. We spent the rest of the day being lazy and tired, watched tv got some sleep.

The next morning (Day 2), we sat outside our hotel room, poolside, with coffee and snacks I had packed and mapped out the first leg of our adventure while watching the kids swim in the amazing pool under the beautiful sunshine.  

On the way out of the city, we stopped at a taco bar that had swings instead of barstools at the table. It was so unique and fun, plus the tacos were pretty good too. After lunch, we loaded ourselves back into the car and drove to Manuel Antonio.