Manuel Antonio marks the end of our time with the Intrepid group as after three days here they all head back to San Jose to fly home. Thankfully we have another week left of our time away, so have chosen to extend our stay in Manuel Antonio for a couple of days. Before our travelling companions leave however, we have another full day at the beach with them and some nights out too.
On our first night in Manuel Antonio we had been joined by Nicole, Jennifer and Tracy for dinner at Marlin restaurant which serves such a good veggie soup and burrito that we visit there again later in our stay. We had also taken the little local bus up the hill one evening to the very cool El Avion restaurant with Nicole and Jennifer.
Designed around an American B-52 bomber that had been shot down over Nicaragua and subsequently bought by a restauranteur as the centrepiece of his establishment, it’s been turned into a funky cocktail bar and nightclub while the rest of the restaurant sits around it. Thankfully the food and cocktails live up to the setting.
Having visited the exceptionally good value Costa Linda hostel and café for cheap and filling breakfasts, we have our final night with the group at Ronny’s Place, a restaurant suggested by Jonathan which is supposedly one of the prime sunset spots in Manuel Antonio on a clifftop. Perhaps it’s the time of year, but the sunset is noticeably less remarkable than from the beach outside our hotel, disappearing behind a large rocky outcrop with little fanfare rather than melting into the sea. The meal at Ronny’s is also somewhat lacklustre for us vegetarians and insanely expensive for what we are served.
The next morning we wave farewell to our group, who have been dubbed the Costa Crew, and for the first time in 36 days we are on our own again. We’ve really enjoyed meeting new people on both our tours, and it’s been fun travelling as part of a group, but it’s a joy to be back on our own itinerary once more.
The joy is tempered somewhat when we move into our new hotel, the San Bada, which had been billed on hotel search engines as one of the very best in Manuel Antonio, to discover that the very inflated price isn’t quite so well reflected in the quality. It’s very pleasant, with a roof terrace and a couple of swimming pools, but to be honest we’d have been just as happy remaining at the group hotel for a third of the cost.
That said, the whole laidback vibe of Manuel Antonio is infectious and truly sums up the Pura Vida ethos of Costa Rica. Life is good, be happy, stay chilled and don’t stress. So we spend the next two days soaking up the sunshine and atmosphere of this very pretty part of the world. Having got unexpectedly sunburnt whilst bouncing in the waves on our final beach day with the group, we buy swim-shirts to protect our bodies from the fierce, tropical sun and relax on the beautiful white sands, fringed with abundant trees including palms laden with coconuts.
This little slice of paradise changes somewhat on our final day as a whole stack of new arrivals appear; North American youths on their spring break determined to drink, surf and party. Paragliders do a roaring trade while surfers make swimming a liability, acting as if they own the waters and when one of them surfs straight into Coman we take it as a sign that our time at Manuel Antonio is coming to an end. That night, having packed our bags, we take the little bus uphill again to the highly recommended Love India restaurant for a delicious dinner, which once again comes with an eye-watering bill.
In fact, while Costa Rica as a whole is known to be expensive in comparison to other Central American countries, Manuel Antonio itself seems more expensive than London. It’s a captive market for holidaying families and wealthy Americans so as we retire to the pricey San Bada hotel to pack our belongings for the next stage of our adventures, we’re sad to leave the beauty of the beach but happy that our wallets will stop taking such a hammering.
The next morning we watch as monkeys invade the breakfast room, brazenly stealing sachets of sugar from the tables, before we carry our luggage down to the beachfront bus stop for our journey on the public bus back to San Jose, stopping at both Quepos and Parrita on the way to pick up more passengers.
It’s a hot and sweaty four-hour drive back to the capital as, due to Covid regulations, public buses have to have open windows rather than use air-con. At one stage the on-board temperature gauge hits 39 degrees and it’s a relief when we finally pull into San Jose’s bus station in a slightly dodgy part of the city.
We had planned to have a walk around the centre of San Jose to do some sight-seeing but as we drive through the city on the way to our hotel, passing many of the main “sights”, we accept that there is nothing of note downtown. And we realise that this is one of the things we have missed in Costa Rica.
While there is undoubtedly amazing scenery and beautiful wildlife, there’s no grand architecture, ancient history or great culture to explore. Our travel tastebuds are equally as stimulated by discovering fascinating towns and cities as by travelling through wilderness and nature, so while both Mexico and Guatemala in particular tick all the boxes, Costa Rica has been slightly less fulfilling.
Once we’ve checked back into the Rincon Del Valle hotel, which we stayed in on our first night in Costa Rica, we head across the train tracks to the nearby Sabana Park. It’s a nice space to walk in but with a dried-up lake and its Museum of Modern Art closing just as we arrive seems to sum up San Jose’s limited charms. We have an early dinner at Nana’s Lebanese restaurant nearby and head back to our room, excited to be returning to Mexico City in the morning where our taste for history, art and culture will be met in abundance once more.
And as we leave Costa Rica the next morning – flying out of San Jose and over Nicaragua’s lake containing the Ometepe Islands, beyond its giant volcanic craters and up the Pacific coasts of El Salvador and Guatemala – we settle back into our AeroMexico seats, where we’re served healthy shots of tequila and Pacifico beer. It’s a joy to see the mountains of Mexico’s Sierra Nevada start to appear, and as we come into land we are treated to incredible views of Popocatepetl.
Costa Rica has been a lot of fun, but we feel a real thrill to land back in Mexico City where we started this epic journey seven and a half weeks ago. And our adventure continues there once more, with a final few days before our journey comes to its eventual end. So, before we say goodbye, head to our Viva Mexico blog for the last two chapters of our Central American travels, where old friends reappear and new experiences occur.
