Sunday, October 26, 2014

Manuel Antonio


View on the boat ride

After school on Friday, we came home, packed, and boarded the bus to San Jose.  From there, Darcy, David, Sophie, Sierra, and I walked through downtown to go to the bus station where we would catch the bus to Manuel Antonio. On our walk through San Jose, we stopped at Wendy's to grab some dinner before we left.  I was so disappointed that they didn't have chocolate Frostys but I already had two this week so I guess I shouldn't be too upset.  Anyway, Wendy's was like a darn sports bar! It was full of people watching a soccer game on TV, a WOMEN'S soccer game, no less.  I was very impressed with their excitement.  The game went into a shootout and there were giant globs of people watching through the windows and doorways from outside to see the game.

One glob of people.  The photo is blurry because you have to be careful with iPhones here.  Even iPhone 3 and 4s are worth $1000 so they are stolen from tourists if they're not careful.

After Wendy's, we finished the walk to the bus station where we waited until our bus arrived.  We boarded the bus and headed off to Manuel Antonio.  I sat with Darcy and we gabbed for most of the 3 hour bus ride.  Once we got there, we hopped in a taxi which took us to the Pura Vida hostel where we were staying.  The lady who helped us was a little crazy (and also wore the same dress the whole weekend-ew.)  She needed to see all of our passports and I didn't bring a copy of mine so that was a fiasco; then she woudn't let us all pay separate and that was even more chaotic.  Eventually we got it all settled and hung out in the lobby until we went to bed.

The next morning we got up and ready and our shuttle picked us up from the hostel and took us to the boat landing.  We went on the Ocean King boat as part of Catamaran Tours.  The locals call it a "booze cruise" because they offer unlimited drinks, alcoholic and otherwise.  The boat that we were on was a two story boat with water slides!


There were trampoline type beds that we laid on for awhile, and a "hot tub" that actually had cold water in it that we relaxed in.  Of course I had to be a typical tourist and get all excited when we saw dolphins.  They were jumping in the distance but also swam along side our boat.


Once we stopped out in the ocean we went up to the second floor of the boat.  They were letting people jump off, so David went and took a dive.  Somehow I got the courage to try too and I jumped off as well.  It was so fun, I had to go again!  I probably would have jumped more but then lunch was being served. 



For lunch, there was chips, pasta salad, some type of fish, rice with vegetables, and other vegetables.  I had everything but the fish. (I even ate my pasta salad- another new thing for me!)


After eating, we hung out some more on the trampolines until we headed back into the marina.  After our four hour boat trip, we got off the boat and headed back to meet our shuttle which took us back to the hostel.  Sierra and I stayed at the hostel and took a nap while the other three went to the beach because we were exhausted.  Despite my use of sunscreen, I had already gotten a little sunburned (shocking, I know) so I figured I probably didn't need anymore sun that day anyway.

Once it started raining, they all came back to the room and we showered before going out to dinner.  We took the bus to another part of town (the area is too sketchy to totally walk around in at night) and then walked to the restaurant.  IT WAS SO GOOD! I had a grilled chicken breast with zucchini, a tomato, and a baked potato with garlic butter.  Normally I would not eat zucchini or a tomato but they were seasoned so deliciously I gobbled it up.  The meal was so delicious that I was disappointed when I was too stuffed to finish it.


After dinner, Darcy and David stayed in town while the rest of us took the bus back to the hostel.  I had a splitting headache so I went to bed right away.  Naturally, I woke up before 6 this morning and laid in bed listening to music until everyone else woke up.  We got ready, packed out bags, and took the bus into Quepos.  We sat at Subway for a couple hours and ate lunch before boarding our bus back to San Jose.  I sat with David on the way back but slept most of the way so I wasn't very good company.  From San Jose we got on a different bus and headed back to Santa Ana.

Sierra, Sophia, Me, Darcy, David

On another note, I can't believe this is already going to be my fourth week here.  Although it feels like I haven't been home in forever, it still feels like I just got here last week.  We have two- four day weeks of school ahead of us so I know time is going to continue to fly by!


You can find all travel posts from Hey Dreamer Blog here.

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