1 March 2011
This morning nine of us, Ros, Jim, Lousie, Andrea, Jo, Shelly, Christine, Colin and I took a tuktuk to the McCaw Mountain Bird Park and Nature Reserve. There we saw dozens of rescued and donated parrots, mccaws, tucans and owls who make their home in this riverside park. It was such a tranquil cool place to be on a scorching hot day.
In the afternoon we visited a small village called La Pintada, 3 kms from Copan. There we were able to interact with the children and distribute a few basic food supplies to some of the poorer families within the village. Towards the end of our visit we were taken to a women’s co-operative where a variety of goods are woven then sold to support six families..
We returned to Copas late afternoon for a shower then a group meeting to discuss arrangements for tomorrow’s travel.
2 March 2011
This morning we left Copan and travelled three hours by local bus to San Pedro, the financial capital of Honduras, followed by another three hour stint on another bus to La Celia on the Caribbean Coast. From La Celia we boarded a 1 ½ fast ferry to Roatan Island finally arriving early evening.
Roatán, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of Honduras’ Bay Islands. It is approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, and less than 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide at its widest point. The most populous town of the island is Coxen Hole, capital of Roatán municipality, located in the southwest. Located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea (second largest worldwide after Australia's Great Barrier Reef), Roatán has become an important cruise ship and scuba diving destination in Honduras. Tourism is its most important economic sector, though fishing is also an important source of income for islanders.
From the ferry terminal at Roatan we took a 15 minute bus ride to our accommodation at Westend, a village at the west end of the island.
It is said that Westend remains a slow paced seaside village an undeniably superb location to lose yourself in the relaxing rhythms of Caribbean life.
3rd March 2011
This morning we woke to a beautiful sunny day and the sea like glass.
At 9.00 a.m. Juan Carlos took us on an orientation walk of Westend. We sauntered along the white sand beach, stopping occasionally to suss out places to eat for lunch and dinner, access the ATM and hire snorkel gear for a day on the beach.
By early afternoon we had found a quiet wee spot at Half Moon Bay in the sun where we could sit on a lounger, read and snorkel in the lovely clear water.
While Colin and I snorkelled Maxine and Andrea took a ride in a deep sea submarine to explore the depths of Bay at 300, 450 & 600 meters.
The submarine has been designed and built by Karl Stanley and is the subject of a documentary “A View from Below”, which debuted at the Montreal Film Festival in 2009.
Early evening we headed to the Creole Rotisserie Chicken restaurant to have a delicious meal of roast chicken, yellow rice and coleslaw.
4th March 2011
At 6.15 a.m. Colin along with Ros, Jim, Steve and Jo headed out for six hours of fishing in the Caribbean Sea.
I, on the other hand slept in till 8.00 a.m. then went for a 45 minute walk along the beach with Maxine to Westbay, 4 kms southwest of Westend village where we are staying.
The beach at Westbay is the most beautiful of all beaches on Roatan Island…..sparkling fine white sand, crystal clear aqua coloured water with lots of fish swimming through it.
At Westbay Maxine and I treated ourselves to a cool drink each before returning to Westend early afternoon by which time Colin & Co had arrived but with no fish.
The afternoon was spent at Rudy’s, a café that serves great coffee, excellent fruit smoothies and offers free Wi Fi so we cleared emails and booked our accommodation for Costa Rica.
The Intrepid group watched the sunset over the Caribbean Sea before Juan Carlos held a meeting to discuss arrangements for the next few days.
5th March 2011
5th March 2011
After a relaxing morning we dragged ourselves away from our playground at Westend and travelled to the ferry terminal at Dixon’s Cove to catch the catamaran back to the mainland and then bus onto Comayagua, total travel time of 6-7 hours.
Comayagua is the historical first capital of Honduras and was a religious and political center for over three centuries until power shifted to Tegucigalpa in 1880.
Our arrival at the hotel was around 10.00 p.m. and although it was late but because there was a good Wi Fi connection we decided to ring home to talk with the girls and Uncle John so lights didn’t get turned off till after midnight.
6th March 2011
Today it was a full day of travel as we left Comayagua at 7.00 am, crossed the border into Nicaragua late morning to head to Granada......approximately 12 hours of bus travel.
Granada is located along the coast of the Lake Nicaragua, the world’s twentieth largest lake. It is Nicaragua’s oldest city and over the years has managed to hold onto its colonial charm and with a surrounding countryside that includes active volcanoes and lakes it’s a great place to spend some time.
There are three volcanic lagoons in Granada; Manares, Genirzaro and the famous Apoyo. Apoyo, which is shared with the Department of Masaya, is the largest volcanic lagoon in Nicaragua.
Granada was founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Cordobq and is commonly nicknamed the Gran Sultana del Gran Lago (Great Sultan of the Great Lake). With access to the Caribbean Sea via the lake and the Rio San Juan, Granada soon became a rich and an important trade centre and remained so into the 19th century.
With an estimated population of 110,326 people Granada is Nicaragua’s fourth most populous city and capital of the Granada Department.
After a very long day of travel we arrived at Hotel Cocibolca around 8.00 p.m. so it was a quick visit to our rooms before heading out to dinner and then turning in for an early night.
7th March 2011
7th March 2011
Our guide for the day, Raymond met us at the hotel at 9.00 a.m to take us on a full day tour of the city.
He started the tour by telling us that most of Granada's streets are quite narrow due to the city's layout before the advent of motorized vehicles and as a result of this many streets are one-way which can add a challenge to visitors traveling by car. He explained that after many years of neglect, primarily due to the economic collapse of the nation in the 1980s, most of Granada's buildings and infrastructure began to deteriorate but now the city government has since directed funds towards recognition and restoration of many of Granada’s historic structures.
We found out that Granada has been subject to many battles, invasions of pirates, and subjugations. The most significant was the American William Walker, who conquered Nicaragua and declared himself president in the mid-1800s. When Walker eventually fled the country, he torched the city of Granada and left the famous words, “Granada Was Here.”
Many of Granada’s cathedrals and historic buildings still remain fire-scorched.
Raymond took us to the outer edge of the city where we boarded a ferry. We toured the edges of Lake Nicaragua and passed by several of the 350 diminutive islands...this area is called Las Isletas. Many of these islands are inhabited by traditional fishing families and by some of Nicaragua’s super wealthy.
The highlights of the day included:-
We found out that Granada has been subject to many battles, invasions of pirates, and subjugations. The most significant was the American William Walker, who conquered Nicaragua and declared himself president in the mid-1800s. When Walker eventually fled the country, he torched the city of Granada and left the famous words, “Granada Was Here.”
Many of Granada’s cathedrals and historic buildings still remain fire-scorched.
Raymond took us to the outer edge of the city where we boarded a ferry. We toured the edges of Lake Nicaragua and passed by several of the 350 diminutive islands...this area is called Las Isletas. Many of these islands are inhabited by traditional fishing families and by some of Nicaragua’s super wealthy.
The highlights of the day included:-
- Visting Volcan Masaya National Park. This park consists of a pair of volcanoes, Masaya and Nindiri, which together comprise five craters. Of these, Crater Santiago is still quite active, often smoking and steaming. We went to the summit of Volcan Masaya, which offers a wonderful view of Crater Santiago and the surrounding countryside.
- Exploring Mercado de Artesanias, the original and famous markets where artisans sell their wares e.g. cotton hammocks, colourful basketry, woven mats, wood carvings etc.
- The lookout at Masaya where we took photos of the impressive Laguna de Apoyo.
- San Juan de Oriente where we watched a demonstration from artists who make pottery....we visited the Centro de Artesania Nabotiva, a co-operative workshop.
8th March 2011
The day started with a champagne cocktail at the hotel for Ros’s 50th birthday then breakfast at The Garden Cafe restaurant before getting on a local bus then a ferry to the Island of Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua.
Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. The two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas, are joined by a low isthmus to form one island in the shape of an hourglass. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains. It is the largest island located in the Lake Nicaragua as well as the largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake in the world.
Ometepe has an area of 276 km². It is 31 km long and 5 to 10 km wide. The island has a population of 42,000, and is mainly an agricultural island with rural villages and watermelon, coffee, banana and citrus plantations. Plantains are the major crop.
As of June 2010, it is scheduled to be named a UNESCO Biosphere Preserve.
Ometepe is famous for its stone statues and petroglyphs depicting humans, animals, birds and geometric shapes.
On our arrival at our hotel – Finca Playa Venecia we were shown our rooms then 10 minutes later met in the restaurant to prepare the vegetables and meat for Ros’s barbecue birthday.
The birthday celebrations began around 6.00 p.m. with champagne cocktails while watching the sunset followed by Ros hitting the traditional ‘Penarta’ to release sweets to give to the onlookers.
A piñata is a brightly-colored decoration made from either a clay container or cardboard shape covered with papier-mâché. In Mexico, piñatas are believed to have originated among the Aztecs, Mayans, and other native peoples of Mexico, who made clay pots in the shape of their gods. The pots were meant to be broken forcefully with poles and sticks, so the contents spilled to signify abundance or favors from the gods.
Historians tell us that during the birthday celebration of the Aztec god of war, Huitzilopochtli, priests hung a clay pot on a pole in the temple. The pot was adorned with colorful feathers and filled with small treasures like bead ornaments, colorful or painted stones, berries, or nuts. When the pot was broken with a stick the little treasures spilled on the feet of the god as an offering. The Mayans played a game where the central player’s eyes were covered with a cloth while he tried to hit the pot that was suspended by a string.
In Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and to a lesser degree other Latin American countries, piñatas are traditionally present only at children birthday parties. They are usually made of cardboard, colorfully decorated to match the birthday party theme (superhero, princess, or any other creative design) and filled with candy, chocolates, small toys and confetti.
We sat down to a delicious dinner at 7.30 p.m. It consisted of fish, sausages, steak, chicken, kebabs, baked potatoes and green salad.
The rest of evening was spent sat around a bonfire on the beach and singing to 60’s & 70’s music.
9th March 2011
At 9.00 a.m. this morning a group of us along with a guide took a minibus to the Maderas Nature Reserve.
At the reserve we stopped to look at several petroglyphs before embarking on a 1 ½ hour ascent to Volcano Maderas to a point where we were had commanding views of Volcano Concepcion and Lake Nicaragua.....absolutely breathtaking.
On our return to Maderas Nature Reserve carpark we headed to Ojo de Agua, a clear water spring where we spent about an hour swimming.
The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the hotel relaxing, updating diary entries, downloading and renaming photos we had taken over the last few days.
The group meeting was held at 6.00 p.m. in the restaurant to discuss travel arrangements fo tomorrow and activity options during our stay at Monteverde.
10th March 2011
We continued travelling south from Ometepe Island first by ferry then by local bus to Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Monteverde is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica and is located in the Cordillera de Tilarán, roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley of Costa Rica.
Monteverde is considered a major ecotourism destination in Costa Rica. The area is perhaps best known for the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde and numerous other reserves, which draw considerable numbers of tourists and naturalists interested in mountain and tropical biodiversity.
The pasture land surrounding Monteverde was once covered with dense forest and as a result in the 1930’s was first settled by loggers and farmers but later it became populated by North American quakers. Unfortunately only a small area remains untouched but what is untouched is lush, full of wildlife and portected as the Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso, commonly known as the Cloud Forest. This Cloud Forest is similar to a Rain Forest but instead of the moisture coming from rain it comes from the almost permanent cloud that covers the region.
We arrived at Historios Lodge, Santa Elena late afternoon.
After a quick orientation walk from Juan Carlos Colin and nine others headed out on the Santa Maria night nature tour while I on the other hand headed to town to buy grociers for dinner and breakfast.
The day started with a champagne cocktail at the hotel for Ros’s 50th birthday then breakfast at The Garden Cafe restaurant before getting on a local bus then a ferry to the Island of Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua.
Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. The two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas, are joined by a low isthmus to form one island in the shape of an hourglass. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains. It is the largest island located in the Lake Nicaragua as well as the largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake in the world.
Ometepe has an area of 276 km². It is 31 km long and 5 to 10 km wide. The island has a population of 42,000, and is mainly an agricultural island with rural villages and watermelon, coffee, banana and citrus plantations. Plantains are the major crop.
As of June 2010, it is scheduled to be named a UNESCO Biosphere Preserve.
Ometepe is famous for its stone statues and petroglyphs depicting humans, animals, birds and geometric shapes.
On our arrival at our hotel – Finca Playa Venecia we were shown our rooms then 10 minutes later met in the restaurant to prepare the vegetables and meat for Ros’s barbecue birthday.
The birthday celebrations began around 6.00 p.m. with champagne cocktails while watching the sunset followed by Ros hitting the traditional ‘Penarta’ to release sweets to give to the onlookers.
A piñata is a brightly-colored decoration made from either a clay container or cardboard shape covered with papier-mâché. In Mexico, piñatas are believed to have originated among the Aztecs, Mayans, and other native peoples of Mexico, who made clay pots in the shape of their gods. The pots were meant to be broken forcefully with poles and sticks, so the contents spilled to signify abundance or favors from the gods.
Historians tell us that during the birthday celebration of the Aztec god of war, Huitzilopochtli, priests hung a clay pot on a pole in the temple. The pot was adorned with colorful feathers and filled with small treasures like bead ornaments, colorful or painted stones, berries, or nuts. When the pot was broken with a stick the little treasures spilled on the feet of the god as an offering. The Mayans played a game where the central player’s eyes were covered with a cloth while he tried to hit the pot that was suspended by a string.
In Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and to a lesser degree other Latin American countries, piñatas are traditionally present only at children birthday parties. They are usually made of cardboard, colorfully decorated to match the birthday party theme (superhero, princess, or any other creative design) and filled with candy, chocolates, small toys and confetti.
We sat down to a delicious dinner at 7.30 p.m. It consisted of fish, sausages, steak, chicken, kebabs, baked potatoes and green salad.
The rest of evening was spent sat around a bonfire on the beach and singing to 60’s & 70’s music.
9th March 2011
At 9.00 a.m. this morning a group of us along with a guide took a minibus to the Maderas Nature Reserve.
At the reserve we stopped to look at several petroglyphs before embarking on a 1 ½ hour ascent to Volcano Maderas to a point where we were had commanding views of Volcano Concepcion and Lake Nicaragua.....absolutely breathtaking.
On our return to Maderas Nature Reserve carpark we headed to Ojo de Agua, a clear water spring where we spent about an hour swimming.
The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the hotel relaxing, updating diary entries, downloading and renaming photos we had taken over the last few days.
The group meeting was held at 6.00 p.m. in the restaurant to discuss travel arrangements fo tomorrow and activity options during our stay at Monteverde.
10th March 2011
We continued travelling south from Ometepe Island first by ferry then by local bus to Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Monteverde is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica and is located in the Cordillera de Tilarán, roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley of Costa Rica.
Monteverde is considered a major ecotourism destination in Costa Rica. The area is perhaps best known for the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde and numerous other reserves, which draw considerable numbers of tourists and naturalists interested in mountain and tropical biodiversity.
The pasture land surrounding Monteverde was once covered with dense forest and as a result in the 1930’s was first settled by loggers and farmers but later it became populated by North American quakers. Unfortunately only a small area remains untouched but what is untouched is lush, full of wildlife and portected as the Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso, commonly known as the Cloud Forest. This Cloud Forest is similar to a Rain Forest but instead of the moisture coming from rain it comes from the almost permanent cloud that covers the region.
We arrived at Historios Lodge, Santa Elena late afternoon.
After a quick orientation walk from Juan Carlos Colin and nine others headed out on the Santa Maria night nature tour while I on the other hand headed to town to buy grociers for dinner and breakfast.
The nature walkers saw many species of nocturnal animals including a two toed sloth, butterflies, insects and a deadly python.
The rest of the evening was spent back at the hotel.
11th March 2011 – 8.4 Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami
At 6.30 a.m the minibus collected nine of us from Historia’s Lodge and transported us to Reservia Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monetverde.....Costa Rica’s famous Cloud Forest.
The Cloud Forest was established in 1972 by George Powell and his wife along with one of the first quakers to arrive in Monteverde, Wilford Guindon, to promote the establishment of a natural reserve. As a result there are now approximately 878 species of ephiphytes on the reserve along with 100 species of mammals, over 400 of birds, 120 amphibians and reptiles, tens of thousands of insects and over 3000 plants.
Only 3% of the reserves territory is opened to visitation, the rest is under strict protection.
The Reservia Biologica Bosque Nuboso has been chosen as one of the seven wonders of Costa Rica.
On arrival at the reserve we were met by our enthusiastic guide, Danello who immediately led us along the Sendors Bosque Nuboso trail. Shortly after starting the trail excited Danello spotted a female quetzal Costa Rica’s national bird) sitting high in the trees and while we were observing the bird a colourful resplendent quetzel flew onto a branch nearby.......apparently to see the birds so quickly on entering the forest was very rare and to see the two of them together was even rarer. We all sat and observed both birds for at least 20 minutes before continuing.
For the next 2 ½ hours spent with Danello we saw half a dozen other birds, various forest flowers, insects, fungi, trees etc.
At the end of our tour we had coffee at the Reserve Cafe and there we watched and photographed several varieties of busy little hummingbirds.
Mid afternoon Colin and I walked to the Butterfly Garden close to the lodge. There we were given an informative talk and overview of insects and spiders from the Monteverde region followed by a guided tour of the four butterfly gardens.
Each of the 4 gardens represents a different local habitat of the region including the hot lowlands, mid-elevation forest edge, deep forest and cloud forest.
Early evening we had a meeting with Juan Carlos to discuss the up and coming events for tomorrow before heading out to a Tapas Restaurant for dinner.
12th March 2011
This morning was spent relaxing around Historias Lodge then early afternoon we travelled by minibus to Rio Chiquito where we boarded a boat and crossed Laguna de Arenal. From here we continued by minibus to La Fortuna, our base for the next few days.
La Fortuna is a rural city located in San Carlos, in Costa Rica. It is a flat grid town near a playground of cascading waterfalls, steep trails, luxurious hot springs and the active Arenal volcano.
Arenal is often cited by scientists as being in the top ten or top 20 of the world's most active volcanoes and La Fortuna is less than 10 km from the peak of Arenal and less than 20 km from the entrance to Arenal Volcano National Park. It is Costa Rica’s most active volcano, producing ash columns, explosions and red streamers of molten rock almost daily since 1968.
Prior to 1968, La Fortuna was a sleepy agricultural town located 6km from Arenal volcano however, on the morning of July 29, 1968, Arenal erupted violently after nearly 400 years of dormancy, and buried the small villages of Pueblo Nuevo, San Luís and Tabacón. Suddenly, like moths to the flame, tourists from around the world started descending on La Fortuna. Despite the influx of tourists who have swollen the economy in recent years, La Fortuna still retains that sabanero vibe and real Tico feel. Brilliant flowers, not fences, still guard the edges of family-run hotels and restaurants throughout the town, and the nearby jungle still echoes with the cries of howler monkeys and the occasional rumble from the looming volcano.
Dinner tonight was at the hotel.
13th March 2011
This morning nine of the Intrepid group boarded a bus bound for the marshy, jungle like area of Cano Negro, near the Nicaraguan border.
On our way we passed through one of the most productive agricultural areas of Costa Rica with immense plantations of Pineapple, Papaya, Beans, Rica and Sugar Cane.
Our first stop was at the ‘Iguana Bridge’ at Muelle San Carlos where from the bridge we had great views and photo opportunities of an amazing number of green iguanas of all shapes and sizes basking in tree foliage…..a close encounter of an iguana is sure something to remember.
From here we continued onto Cano Negro, close to the small town of Los Chiles in the Province of Alajuela. It is set in a remote area of the country and is often submerged in water from flooded waters.
Cano Negro is mainly conformed by the Cano Negro Lagoon and the Rio Frio (Cold River), a slow-flowing river that winds through canyons on its way to the Caño Negro Lake. It is the most important biological area of the country and the fourth most important wetlands area in the world.
Along the shores of the river and in the trees that bend over its waters, we were able to spot many bird species, mammals e.g. howler and white faced (capichina) monkeys, reptiles e.g. Jesus Christ lizard, Caiman and bats.
After spending two hours on the river we returned to the shore and were taken to a restaurant to eat a typical Costa Rican lunch of black beans, rice and chicken before returning to La Fortuna.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent exploring the streets of the town and relaxing around the lovely hotel that we were staying in.
14th March 2011
This morning we caught the local bus from La Fortuna to San Jose, a journey of four hours.
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. It is located on a plateau in the Central Valley at 1200 m elevation and is ringed by lush green mountains and valleys.
The population of San Jose is probably half of the whole country.
San Jose is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.
Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San José is one of the youngest capital cities in Latin America by year of conception, though it was not named the capital until 1823. Today it is a modern city with bustling commerce, brisk expressions of art and architecture, and spurred by the country's improved tourism industry; it is a significant destination and stopover for foreign visitors.
Booming capitalism has left many disenfranchised and the city struggles to manage a growing crime rate so atypical of the pura vida spirit.
We arrived at The Gaudy Hostel around 1.30 p.m and after dropping our bags in our rooms we headed out on a walking tour of the city led by Juan Carlos, which ended at 5.30 p.m.
As this was our last evening of the tour we all went out to dinner together at the renown Macha Pichu restaurant.
15th March 2011
It was a sad morning this morning as Ros, Jim, Colin and I farewelled the rest of the Intrepid group and the four of us caught a bus to Quepos where we were basing ourselves for the next two days.
Quepos is a city in Puntarenas Province, and is situated along the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It is approximately 160 kms from San Jose and has a population of around 14,000 people. The picturesque town is named for the native Quepoe that inhabited the place in the colonial era.
Quepos is the gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park.
The bus pulled into Quepos bus station around 12.30 p.m. so on arrival we walked to our accommodation at Hotel Le Pris. However on arrival we were dismayed to discover that the hotel had reserved a room for Colin and I but not Jim and Ros......and the hotel was full. The four of us spent the next few hours wondering around Quepos while management arranged another hotel for us to go to.
Mid afternoon we were finally driven to our new accommodation, Hotel Babaloo.
After unpacking and shopping for grociers at the local grocery store Ros, Jim, Colin and I relaxed by the hotel pool for the rest of the afternoon and made a plan of attack for tomorrow.
Dinner tonight was at a little, local restaurant that served fresh, delicious fresh food.
16th March 2011
Early this morning at 6.30 a.m. we caught a bus to Manuel Antonio National Park. The park opened at 7.00 a.m. and being there early ensured that it was easy to hire a guide to show us through the park and we had a higher chance of seeing many more park animals, birds etc before it became busy.
Manuel Antonio National Park is not only Costa Rica’s smallest and most popular national park at just over 683 hectares, but it is also one of its most amazing. The park abounds with wildlife and in a day’s visit it is possible to see iguanas, white faced and howler monkeys, sloths agoutis, paccaries armadillos, pisotes, coatimundis and raccoons. It is home to one of the last sizable populations of the endangered squirrel monkey in the region.
Not only does Manuel Antonio National Park consist of rain forest but it also has beaches and coral reefs. The beaches are the most beautiful in the country and are lined with lush forest…….the three primary beaches of the park are Playas Espadilla Sur, Manuel Antonio and Puerto Escondido Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio has been rated one of the top ten beaches in the world. The beach is half a mile long, perfect white sand crescent bordered by deep mangroves and palms.
Cathedral Point with its forest topped cliffs is connected to the mainland by a thin land bridge that separates the parks two most popular beaches, Playa Espadilla Sur and Playa Manuel Antonio.
The mouth of the Rio Naranjo forms the southern border of the park.
Ros, Jim, Colin and I plus a German couple spent three hours walking through the National Park with our guide animal spotting before farewelling him and returning to Manuel Antonio beach on our own where we spent the rest of the day under a shady tree relaxing, swimming in the warm sea and being entertained by the white face monkeys who were intent on taking unattended belongings and food.
For dinner we walked to a nearby restaurant where we sat outside and each enjoyed a fish meal.
17th March 2011
After a leisurely morning at the hotel we boarded a local bus into Quepos then caught a bus to return to San Jose. The three hour journey, which turned out to be a four and a half hour one because of a mechanical breakdown, was very hot and sticky so we were very pleased when the bus finally rolled into the Cocoa Cola terminal.
At the terminal we were met by a representative from the Hotel Luisiana who then drove us to our hotel accommodation.
Ros, Jim, Colin and I spent a lovely evening together having dinner at the Hotel Luisiana restaurant and recollecting all the wonderful moments of our trip over the last few weeks.
We all finally said our “goodbyes” around 10.00 p.m. as Jim and Ros were flying home to Brisbane and we were flying onto Cuba.
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