Sunset over the pacific on our last evening in Manuel Antonio.

On the way to San Jose we stopped at Cafe Milagro coffee roasters (in Quepos) to pick some up to for home. Ooh! The wonderful aroma.

Our hotel Presidente was easy to spot despite one way streets and hectic traffic. A funky hotel with friendly staff. Delicious steaks for dinner at Tenedor Argentino, but otherwise we just strolled the downtown area.

Volcano Irazú was the agenda for Friday and it was a fabulous day trip from San Jose with breathtaking scenery at every twist and turn in the road. At over 11,000 feet we were above the clouds and the temperatures were perfect. Jersey cows lazed and grazed on the tender and dewy grass, and terraced fields with onions and other produce dotted the mountainsides.

The main crater  has a diameter of 3200 feet and is 1000 feet deep. The area surrounding resembles a moonscape.

We spent the morning scouring the dense tropical forest of Manuel Antonio National Park for the inhabitants. We saw a number of lizards, hummingbirds, spiders, howler monkeys and other elusive creatures and managed to capture 3-toed sloths (covered with algae) and some various frogs. Had we not taken a guided tour, we would probably not have seen any of them except for the monkeys.

The trail ended up at a lovely beach – the perfect antidote for the hot and steamy jungle!

Five toed, three toed, two toed

We are loving our digs here in CR! Parador Resort & Spa Manuel Antonio is set within the tropical forest overlooking the Pacific. Our room is fabulous with views of an adult only infinity pool and across the tree tops to the ocean. We haven’t seen any other guests at the pool or in our building!

Walking trails run through the rain forest on the property, and we even spotted these little monkeys (white headed capuchin) from the verandah outside our room!

The old Maine saying “you can’t get there from here!” applied to us today on our trip from San Jose to Manuel Antonio. Our gps ladies know that we like traveling on roads less travelled and “Mathilda” was taking us on small roads that became dirt roads that became something akin to logging trails!

The scenery was spectacular and we saw some cowboys riding their horses as well as colorful shrubs and a few homes, but no other vehicles .

We made the wise decision to turn around just before a very steep and mud-churned hill and then set off on another paved road that looked very promising. We ended up driving 49 km on dirt, but it was manageable dirt and we periodically encountered others on the road. An interesting diversion along the way was this snake on the road (about 5feet). From internet research, I think it’s a Fireball Python.

A welcome cerveza stop along the (dirt) road!