Ok, before we actually found heaven, we had one of the most outrageous adventures of travel so far. We had arranged for Interbus to come pick us up and transport us to Manuel Antonio. The price was more than we would pay for a public bus, but we just wanted to be here and it was still reasonable. They picked us up early (good thing we had prepared the night before) and began our adventure to Man-Antonio (Joanie kept slipping up and calling it this, but we later found it strangely appropriate considering the gay population living here). Joanie and I found ourselves in the far back seats and since the van was smaller than a bus, the driver felt the need to speed and swerve in an outrageous manner. Every one of us began to feel ill. Most of all Joanie sitting in the middle in the far back. After stopping for some fresh air, the driver realized that none of us were going to make it in a clean fashion if he kept up the pace and that paired with some sitting in traffic allowed the transportation to be much smoother from then on out. We felt the change in humidity and heat and knew shortly that we would be at the beach.
We saw signs and then began driving over one of the most dangerous bridges I believe I have ever been on and that put us in Quepos, the town right next to Manuel Antonio. The driver dropped us off at Vista Serena, the hostel I had read about in my Lonely Planet book, and what a pick. Immediately we are stunned by the views, and the heat. We are shown to our dorm room and begin taking in deep breaths as we realize we made it. With only a brief moment of panic, I realized that I left my camera in the van and the van was no longer here. With a lot of positive thinking and a quick phone call by my new friend Conrad, the van returned within 15 minutes and I had my camera back all intact. Oops... won't let that happen again.
Joanie and I stumbled up the street in search of some food since the granola bar, Pringles and water just weren't cutting it anymore. Right next to the hostel, we found a great little restaurant, La Lunamar. We should have split the meal, but we both had some of the best tasting Mahi-Mahi we had ever eaten. We then ventured further up the mountain to the store and began assimilating into la pura vida.
Manuel Antonio is a neat little beach town that is nestled right in the jungle. In the last 10 years the development here has been exponential, which seems intense since there really isn't a lot here either. Tourism is the number one source of income for this town which adds an interesting spin onto it. It has some of the most beautiful views, sunsets and beaches I have EVER seen in my life. Seriously, don't be mad at me when I give you a calendar of the views here for Christmas. You will realize shortly that you should give me back the calendar and come here instead.
Joanie and I were able to spend a couple of wonderful days here at the beach, meeting new people, finding new foods and laying around on the most beautiful beaches I mentioned before. The trip was too short for Joanie or I's liking, but I was lucky to have had her with me to assist me in getting acclimated to this strange new land. She left me in good hands, and unfortunately the day before she left we had to travel back to San Jose... *tear*
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