Beach Weekend: Manuel Antonio

Cataratas, pronounced kind of like Cataracks or Cadillac

Manuel Antonio might seem like any other sleepy little beach town that graces most Latin American countries but what I enjoy about traveling here specifically is: you can find an accommodation to fit any budget (with some legwork),  there’s public transportation that runs pretty consistently throughout the day, it’s only a 3-hour skip from San Jose, and there’s no major resort-like developments blocking free beach access. For my third visit, Manuel Antonio is just as I remembered it (except one tangerine-colored intrusion that opened in December 2010 right outside the National Park) the waves are just as playful, the food is still delicious, the only thing that I would say needs to improvement is the nightlife.

Here is my weekend in pictures:

Highlights:

* Meeting an interesting Canadian couple who we ended up bumping into again the second night at the Sports bar, and a third time on our bus ride back to Chepe (San Jose). I will be making my way up to Montreal in the near future!

Such friendly Canadians!

* Experiencing a waterfall with a pool shallow enough for me to stand up in! I’m not a full confident swimmer just yet, and was happy I didn’t have to be satisfied with dipping my feet in the water.

Shallow Waterfall...Heaven

* A run on the beach Saturday morning in my brand new workout outfit had me pretty confident with the way my body looked, but about 7 minutes into the run, breathless and tired, I thought ‘looks are deceiving.’

Morning Run

* Over-sleeping and not feeling guilty about it the next day.

* The peresozo (sloth) that made eye-contact with me, we had a connection.

Come to mama…

I can still hear the waves crashing in my head.

Monkeys don't let monkeys drink the juice...

View from the top of the hill

Until the next road trip,

She Traces

PS- If you’re gonna borrow my pics, at least give me a link back (gracias!).

When Travel Bugs Bite

Although I haven’t managed to post any splendid pictures yet, I spent my weekend relaxing on the Pacific coast’s beach in Manuel Antonio. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the daily rain and cold temperatures of Chepe after a long week of work.  I’m not a fish when it comes to the beach, but I do like to experience the slow drawl of beach towns and enjoying tanning occasionally. I even enjoy the sound of the waves crashing at night, and walking on the shore while romantically being led by the moonlight. Isn’t that how it goes in the movies? Don’t we all fantasize about gettin’ it on on the sand, with the threat of the water reaching to pull us in and someone intruding on our love fest?

Well I’m here to warn you nightly beach dwellers! Beware of the real live travel bug that will surely rain on your vacation, honeymoon, quick escape, all that! Remember how I told you that I developed these mystery bites overnight, and couldn’t imagine what to attribute them to? Well, after eliminating bed bugs and mosquitos, the only vicho (creature) left was something that attacks in tropical areas.

I proceeded to self-diagnose myself by checking out this Insect Bites & Stings page on Travel Doctor. There was were I found the culprit. Exhibit A: The Sand Fly (all information below borrowed from TD).

Also known as the noseeum, cuz you don't even realize when you've been got!

Family name: Phlebotomidae

Popular Hangouts: Any aquatic or semiaquatic area of the world. The blood-sucking species tend to stay near beach or mountain habitats. Beware at night, they dwell and hunt when the wind dies down!

Offense: Preying on beach-goers at their most vulnerable state.

Symptoms: Although you can’t feel their bite like a mosquitos, their attacks can cause an allergic reaction which becomes very itchy and bites can grow up to 2 inches wide! What’s worse is these little suckas can carry a life-threatening disease called ‘Leishmaniasis’ which can cause fever and disfiguring skin sores.

Proposed Sentence: Death!

When I sat to think about it, I remembered being lured by the moonlight to lay on the beach after dark and pow-wow with my companion. Little did I know I was going to be blindly attacked while I pondered my next step in life. I woke up Tuesday morning confused and chicken-pox-itchy. I ended up buying a topical cream that is only effective hours at a time, and will end up seeing a doctor tomorrow. Let’s hope this cup shall pass from me. Next time, I’ll be sure to cover myself in DEET or wear a protective suit after-hours. Well, hopefully you can learn something from my misfortune.

Don’t say I never taught you nothing,

She Traces