After one last night in the rubbish bed, its time to check out of the hotel Santa Fe, bringing the guest count to zero. My least favourite thing has been that they refused to provide room service ‘due to covid yet asked that we do not throw paper in the toilet. By now, the bin is overflowing with 4 days worth of soiled paper. At 6 am Ive had enough and go and sit outside until its time to leave.
Today, we are travelling 119 miles south to Manuel Antonio, site of Costa Ricas most popular national park. Theres a strict quota system in place so weve already purchased our tickets and are raring to go.
After one last encounter with the fluorescent fruit juice, we depart. Its supposedly a 3.5 hour drive - factor in that the old man drives like an old woman, plus I have a few stops planned en route and its going take a while longer
We descend from Monteverde through beautiful mountain scenery, then after a brief section on Route 1 through the industrial/port city of Punta Arenas, we turn onto the Pacific Highway.
bridge over the Ro Tarcoles, where my guide book promises the sight of crocodiles lazing on the banks. Im keeping my eyes peeled for the bridge – I neednt have bothered. We round a corner to the sight of dozens of cafes and souvenir stands lined by dozens of cars and tour buses. I think its safe to say weve reached our destination.
We walk along the bridge and manage to spot 14 crocodiles. After buying a $3 bottle of Coke and going for a $1 wee, we press on. Next stop is a viewpoint overlooking the resort town of Jac. And finally, a viewpoint in the fishing town of Quepos.
At Quepos, we turn off the highway and proceed along a small road to Manuel Antonio. First, the old man buys an ice cream while I go in search of a cold drink. I emerge with a bottle of water and 2 beers for when we arrive at the hotel.
We continue to tonights hotel (Hotel Manuel Antonio) which is literally at the end of the road, in a turning circle, two miles past the village of Manuel Antonio itself. In my mind, once we pass
the village, we will be in the back end of beyond. Its more like Bournemouth on a particularly hot August Bank Holiday and the drive takes forever through all the traffic. My beer doesnt make it to the hotel!
The hotel is very nice. The room is cool and has 2 double beds and a balcony overlooking the garden, which is full of iguanas. It is sandwiched between the National Park and the beach.
By the time we arrive, we have been travelling for 5 hours in baking heat - Im cooked. Its a vicious cycle of the heat/a lack of service stations/an abundance of snakes.
We take a walk along the beach, have a cool down in our room, then return to the beach for sunset. We round the evening off at a beachside restaurant, where its happy hour on cocktails – finally after a mango daiquiri and a passion fruit daiquiri, I am cool again!
