Day 20 – Parrita – Manuel Antonio Park

We were on our way to Manuel Antonio National Park by 6:30 AM as only a limited number of people are admitted to the park and we wanted to be certain to get in. this is the most visited park in Costa Rica. As we approached the park entrance, we saw our first view of real tourism. People were everywhere, parking limited. We started up the main trail and saw our first sloth and then continued to see more animals, like coatis, squirrels, lizards, etc. One of the more interesting features of the park were several beautiful beaches, one rocky beach with a coral reef, another with no rocks, but high waves, good for surfing and several other smaller ones. We spent much of the day at the beaches. A walk from one to the other led through a jungle full of capuchin monkeys, the ones with little white faces. Laura got sunburned and a coati bit John while he was napping at the beach. Otherwise, we had a great time at our last national park before we head home.

This monkey liked Laura’s hat

The monkeys liked to nibble on John

Jack feeds a new friend some banana, Ann gets a massage

Yes, the monkeys jumped on the boat

Monkey contemplating serious thoughts before jumping back to the mangroves

All aboard for the Isla Damas monkey tour

Day 19 – Parrita

We had read about a farmer’s market in Quepos and decided to wake up early and head down. the market was great, lots of fresh friits and vegetables, many we didn’t recognize. I bought bread from Amish folks originally from Ohio. We bought a chicken and new potatoes and had a dinner feast of roast chicken and mashed potatoes, a nice change from the daily rice and beams diet. We went to the beach, sat in the pool. caryn, Paul and Jack went into town later and came back with a machete to cut the coconuts that are laying around in the back yard. after many tries, the men finally succeeded and we had fresh coconut and coconut milk.

Day 18 – Parrita

We decided to spend a day just exploring the beach, doing laundry, (by hand since the anticipated washer was not there) and going to the grocery store. The weather was nicer than expected, less rain, cool breezes. A gazebo with three hammocks provided a leisurely place for reading and napping. we picked fruit from various trees. john and Paul were approached by capuchin monkeys n their way back from the store.

Laura poses for the camera