Amy: When booking our trip to Panama, I was able to add a flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. For years, we’ve wanted to go back to one of our favorite places, Manuel Antonio on the western coast of Costa Rica. We have previously visited in 2009, 2010, and 2013, and marveled at the natural beauty and wildlife. We couldn’t wait to revisit the area after 11 years.
We returned to stay at Costa Verde, an eclectic resort with lodging and dining spread across the hilly bluffs above Manuel Antonio National Park. After the drive in our rental car from San Jose, we decided to jump in the pool. Shortly after, Jon spotted a toucan and ran to find me (and grab his camera). Soon another toucan joined. The bartender at the pool also said a sloth had been in the area and I quickly spotted it napping in the nook of a tree.
Totally excited about our wildlife encounters, we hiked up the hill to watch the sunset at El Avion (an airplane themed restaurant, built around a cargo plane). We spotted a howler monkey on the way. We have typically seen them higher in the trees, so the close encounter was special. Once we got to El Avion, the place was packed. Our little table in the back of the restaurant allowed somewhat of a sunset view, but also the view of a white-face capuchin monkey playing on the rooftop.
Each previous visit, we have gone to the small Manuel Antonio National Park to hike and look for wildlife. In the past, the park hasn’t been very busy and entry was easy. However, times change and as we made our way to the park early the next day, we noted how busy it seemed. People selling tours to the park lined the street and told us no tickets to the park were available (without paying for a guided tour). Turns out that was correct and we were unable to go to the park, as we didn’t want to pay for an unneeded tour guide to get entry tickets. Now we know to buy tickets well in advance if we want to return. We strolled along the beach to get the cool breeze after being very sweaty in the jungle trying to get tickets.
The area is dense with wildlife and we were able to spot an adorable squirrel monkey after a stroll along the beach. Throughout the day, we had a few sightings of squirrel monkeys playing and eating in the forest as we walked the grounds. After lunch, we happened upon a couple of groups of monkeys we could watch jump and frolic in the trees. More monkeys played on wires above the pool (and in the bar area) later in the day. We went to The Falls Restaurant up the hill in the evening for a tasty dinner and watched a gorgeous sunset from our room.
Since we had a rental car, we drove a bit over an hour the next day to visit the Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured, sick, and orphaned Costa Rican wildlife. Most wildlife goes back into the wild, but we were able to view and learn about a number of animals that were unable to return for health or wellness reasons. The two-toed sloth, Mocha, and seeing two more toucans in the wild were the highlights of our visit. We went into the town of Dominical and visited the charming Fuego Brewery before heading back.
As we walked the Costa Verde grounds, I spotted a sloth hanging up in the tree tops. We watched it for quite a while, before our last evening at the relaxing pool area. Some parakeets perched in a tree by the pool and another stunning sunset dipped into the ocean. A refreshing mojito and wood-fired pizza capped off a full day.
We checked out the next day, but not before having a monkey visit our balcony and enjoying a final breakfast at the Anaconda Restaurant complete with monkeys playing all around us.
We returned to the San Jose area for the night after a drive up to Cerro Lodge, a location known for scarlett macaws that we visited in 2010. We only spotted some macaws in flight earlier in the trip, but had a nice lunch, happy memories, and a final monkey visitor.
Jon did an excellent job driving through jam packed rush hour traffic with motorbikes, people, bicycles, and bumper to bumper vehicles. We had a lovely dinner at Villa San Ignacio, which is housed in a wooded area next to the city.
A morning flight brought us back through the Panama airport before our final return to Colorado. Excited to see our dog, Riggs, we made it home and reflected on another memorable adventure to Central America.
(Dates: February 25-29, 2024)
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