Winding up

I fractured my tailbone. On a waterslide. Who else would come to Costa Rica and break their tailbone on a waterslide. At least I got a glimpse into the medical care in Costa Rica...which is basically the same as the US, except no waiting and cheaper.
We left Manuel Antonio and came to Jaco, which I like to call the Panama City Beach of Costa Rica. 2 days in, I decided my tailbone was not getting any better, and instead of waiting till I got home, where I wouldn't have health insurance right away, I better just get it checked out here. We went to the clinic in town and I was walking out the door 20 minutes later. We walked in and they took me straight to the xray room. The doctor said I had a small fracture and that there wasn't really anything that could be done for it. He handed me the xrays to take with me and said if the pain got worse or doesn't start to feel any better in a few months to come back. Everything came to the grand total of $50. In the states I'm sure I would have been out $500 and 4 hours of my time. And I would not have gotten to keep the xrays of my ass. While leaving the doctor, we saw the dentist's office. We decided to go in and see how much a teef cleaning would cost. $40 for Don, $40 for me, and $30 for Candler. So we got our teefs polished for $110 with the exact same care we'd get in the US. Yet again for cheaper and less time.
We haven't done anything too exciting in Jaco, just beach, pool, and walking around town. We did go on a hike one day up to an overlook that had a view of the whole town and beach. We went further up the road and found a really cool old abandoned restaurant with an amazing view as well. It was all white with huge Greek colums, and was obviously a very upscale restaurant. It appeared as though it was in the process of being transformed into a hotel.
So we return August 12th, and I think Don will have to drag me onto the plane kicking and screaming. I love it here and am no where near ready to come back. I dread the heat and traffic. Here I have no need for a car or cell phone, and dread the expense of them when I return. I do miss my dogs and friends though, but they can all be brought to Costa Rica. So hop on a plane and someone bring me my dog so I never have to leave.

Manuel Antonio

We left Puerto Viejo and drove across the country to the Pacific coast again. This time our destination was Manuel Antonio. Once through San Jose, the rest of the drive was one of the most scenic through the mountains and with great views (second prettiest drive behind our second trip to Arenal when we got lost in Monteverde). We stopped in a tiny town that I don't even know the name of for a quick bite to eat. Quick so we thought. It was in the middle of nowhere and the people didn't speak english. We ordered just fine, but the waiter I guess just assumed we spoke Spanish and we pieced together what we could. It didn't seem like there was an issue with what we ordered. Candler's food came out 20 minutes later. 40 minutes later, Don and I still had no food. There was a window that we could see into the kitchen and there was one woman in there cooking, so we just assumed that she was working on our food. After about an hour, we realized our waiter was gone (it is not uncommon for a server to just leave. Not as in, I quit, but it's meal time, and they need their meal too. A 10% service fee is automatically included on the bill, so service here is not like service in the states.) and the woman in the kitchen was talking with friends. Finally, we just paid for Candler's food and left.
Once we arrived in Manuel Antonio, we met up with a man named Ron that we were going to rent a condo from. Turns out, Ron lived in Virginia Highlands in Atlanta and decided to move to Costa Rica a year ago. Yet another Atlien we've met here. We wound up renting the condo from him and the top picture on this post was the view from the condo. Manuel Antonio was probably the most beautiful place we've stayed...and the hilliest. The main part of town is set up high, and the road down to the beach is spotted with hotels and restaurants all the way down. The road is long, curvey, and steep. We were on the top of the mountain/cliff, and we had no car. Needless to say we got a ton of exercise in Manuel Antonio. We only took a taxi once because it was a downpour. Our legs were sore everyday, and on top of that we had some killer stairs to go up and down to get to the condo. It was great.
We went to the beach everyday and spent one day in Manuel Antonio park. We hiked most of the park which was mostly rainforest, and went to Manuel Antonio beach in the park. The park actually has several beaches, however it was high tide by the time we got to them and they were inaccessable. We saw several critters that I'd never seen before - most of which I still have no idea what they were. One was a possum/raccoon creature, another looked like a black guinea pig/pig mix thing - it was a little larger than a cat and tailless, and when we exited the park there was a group of titi (squirrel) monkies on the roof of a restaurant next to the park. Titi monkeys live in groups of 15-40, and they weren't shy around humans at all. They were running and playing all around. We actually saw another group of them near our condo the following day on our hike down to the beach. We stopped and watched as they tried to cross a gravel road by jumping from tree to tree and across power lines. A baby was left behind and was too scared to cross the power lines, and it sat nervously in the tree crying. The mom eventually came back and tossed it on her back and made the way across. I can't get enough of all the monkeys here. Love it. Another thing I also loved about Manuel Antonio...the caution road signs...

Puerto Viejo

We spent a week in the southern Caribbean coast in a town called Puerto Viejo, and it felt like a totally different country. It was jungle and beach. Literally the jungle went right up to the beach. The waves were crazy and swimming was only safe in limited areas. The area had an afro caribbean vibe and a whole bunch of back packers. It rained...alot. Oh, and the whole town smelled like marijuana.
Hands down, Puerto Viejo had the best food we've had in Costa Rica. We had two restaurants that were our favorites: Bread & Chocolate and hili Rojo. I don't think it is really necessary to explain why Bread & Chocolate was a favorite...they had bread and well, chocolate, what more could you want. This place was our breakfast/lunch eatery. Great sandwiches and actual real salads. In Costa Rica, people don't really eat vegetables. The normal idea of a salad here is some iceburg lettuce (or shredded cabbage) and a slice or two of a half ripe tomato. We ate our first dinner in Puerto Viejo at Chili Rojo and quickly fell in love - a view of the ocean and probably some of the best thai food I've had. Chili Rojo was good for breakfast and dinner. French toast with nutella, banana pancakes, and fresh fruit with yogurt and granola for breakfast, and thai food for dinner. I'm getting hungry just writing this. The afro caribbean vibe = lots of caribbean food, which = flavor. The typical Costa Rican dish is called a casado. A casado is a meat of your choice (chicken, pork, beef, or fish) with black beans, rice, and one of the not so great salads. While a good bargan (all that food for $3), not much flavor, and they quickly lose their appeal. There isn't much spice to the food, it's pretty bland...I hypothesize that it might be because spices are kind of expensive here. The Caribbean coast, tons of spice! A very welcomed change. Seriously, fatty is hungry now. Moving on....









It rained, and then it rained some more, and then there was a break for yet some more rain, followed by you guessed it...more rain. It didn't seem to slow anyone down, so we didn't let it stop us either...for the most part. We spent one day at the sloth rescue - that I've already written about. One day we drove to a town just north, called Cahuita and walked through the national park there and swam in the ocean. It was about a 7 mile hike through the jungle bordered by the ocean. We saw some sloths, white faced monkeys, and some insanely huge insects. Another day we went for a 16 mile bike ride from Puerto Viejo to a town called Manzanillo. The ride was down the dirt/gravel road connecting the two towns through some more jungley goodness. Other days we went to the beach in Cocles that was considered safe for swimming...mostly. The first day we went, we were quickly stopped by someone that I assume was a lifeguard (there are few places that actually have life guards in Costa Rica. The people that live in Cocles organized to have one on the beach due to the bad rip currents at times.) came up to us and said it was too dangerous to get in the water. When a Costa Rican tells you something is too dangerous...take their word. I haven't gotten the vibe that this is a culture that is too overly concerned with safety, so when they say it's not safe - it's not safe. With that warning, we left the beach, but returned the next day and the beach was marked with red and green flags to signal where it was safe to swim. It is a big surfing area due to the craziness of the ocean.
Despite all the rain, Puerto Viejo was great and is a must if you ever come to Costa Rica.
Oh one more thing, there is a restuarant/hostel place that is absolutely HUGE. We ate lunch there before our bike ride and walked around the place...there is a large area of just hammocks. Like 50 or so, where you can rent just a hammock for the night to sleep in for $5. Or, if you want more privacy, they have tents that you can rent as well for $10. You stay in the tent there, either on the first floor, or they have an upstairs area that are just tents set up for backpackers.