Costa Rica ~ Fall 2010: Manuel Antonio…who’s that?

Manuel Antonio is a national park in Costa Rica obviously named after someone. It’s on the Pacific Coast about 3 ½ hours from San José.

Words to describe my time visiting Manuel Antonio for fall break:

· GORGEOUS

· White-sand beaches

· Palm trees

· Monkeys…a story to tell at the end

· Hiking

· Islands

· Blue water

· Surfers

· Vista Serena (hostel we stayed at which translates as “Serene View”)

· Hammocks

· Awesome people…from all over the world

· Zip-lining

· Fun!

So the monkey story…well Manuel Antonio is the second most visited place in Costa Rica, after Volcano Poas which I visited earlier this fall. This equals tourists and that means the monkeys know how to get food. After a good hike to a remote beach, we (me, another student, and six other foreigners) decided to stop at another beach to jump in the water and relax a little. I was hungry so I decided to sit under a tree branch for shade along with one of my new friends and open my little bag of Frosted Flakes. Little did I know a monkey was waiting for his lunch. I saw him running towards me and immediately stood up and grabbed my backpack/messenger bag. The monkeys are known for rummaging through backpacks. They are more often than not the thieves on some beaches, such as this one. This little howler-monkey knew I put my food in my bag so he ran up on a log in the sand and jumped at me. Yes, I was attacked by a monkey! He grabbed on to my arm and bag and I had to throw him off. When he finally let go I ran into the ocean. Yes, I RAN into the ocean, clothes and Tevas on and all. I figured he wouldn’t bother me there. So, lesson learned, never have food visible where there are monkeys, they will not only run at you but they will run and jump on you. In addition, the ocean can be a safe place. And just so you know, monkeys are not cute like we think…they have fang looking teeth and wrinkly faces with red marks that kind of look like blood. The other foreigners found it quite humorous I might add. Our stay at that particular beach was rather short.

However, I will not let the monkeys keep me from coming back. Manuel Antonio has tons of things to do and I could easily spend a week exploring the park, going on adventures/tours, and soaking up the sun, not to mention while watching some sweet surfers. This area is known for having some of the best waves to surf in the world! One late afternoon the waves were hitting 10 feet high, which was actually too big for most to surf. However, that’s when the real surfers were out. Super cool!