Manuel Antonio is known holiday destination all year round. Many people are visiting the local national park baring the same name. A whale tail shaped peninsula accompanied by lush rainforest is a local hotspot.
In fact so much so, that some unfortunate tourists don't even make it there. Tickets are to be bought online and in advance. I've heard about some that would have to wait three days to get in and that couldn't possibly fit their itinerary. Not my case though. I have all the time in the world at the moment and I am not falling for such gringo trap. The whole country is a tropical paradise with amazing places to see for free and we are going to do exactly that today...
My plan was simple. To try to discover a path or trail to the nearby resort town called Quepos. There is a local bus that will transport you for one dollar and I would recommend you taking it. However to some more adventurous souls I say take the trail. As we will progress further you will see how extreme it can get at times.
I have accommodated myself in Blue Morpho House ideally located for my trip. Half a kilometer away is a house called Villa Pelicano where a secret gate opens to those who dare to enter.
Trail is stuck between private properties and it is not always clear where to go next. It is also quite posh looking neighborhood. In places like that I get the feeling I will be eaten by a bulldog by any minute. But that didn't happen even when I have knowingly entered some private property to take a shortcut which end up a dead end due to small river.
First beach I have finally found my way to was La Macha. A steep descent added the effect of being somewhere secret and remote. However I wasn't alone at that time. There was a motorbike parked and I have also seen another person with a camera. And there is no wonder. It was definitely one of the nicest beaches I have had a chance to see.
It was high tide. The sandy part of the beach was getting smaller with each wave approaching and I moved on. I had no water with me and as it started to get warmer I have decided to proceed with the trail towards Quepos.
That is where my monkey skills came handy. Jungle and landslides made the trail real challenge from now on.
Accompanied by funny looking crabs and amazing views from the cliffs I was slowly proceeding through the narrow path following the coastline. It wasn't that long but the difficulty added up to it. I started to sweat hard.
Having no water I was really excited to find a mango tree. They are in fact everywhere here and locals even call it The mango coast around here.
I have arrived to Quepos just in time for breakfast. What an expensive place... I mean whole Costa Rica is in a way. One just has to be careful with purchases and watch out for obvious scams, but two dollars for one litre of water? Give me a break!
So I have bought peanut butter and some oranges to recharge my batteries for the way back. In Quepos I haven't stopped for long as I was disgusted by the local supermarket prices And still had one more beach to discover.
This time I wanted to find La Vaca beach. It was more or less the same story full of dead ends and sketchy terrain all over again. At this point I started to be exhausted by the weather and lack of water. I am indeed new to the tropical climate and my body might need some acclimatization first.
Not expecting such hot day I didn't take my swimwear with me. Luckily on my desired La Vaca beach there was absolutely nobody and I had a chance to swim naked without any worries.
Next mission was to get back to the hostel to relax a little before another venture.
It took me another solid hour from the beach back, again taking wrong turns as there is little to no guidance to these trails and I was purely just improvising with a little help of maps.me. Heck some of the paths are even closed for safety reasons.
The last picture says more than a thousand words. Exhausted I have turned myself into the shower and started hydrating myself with tab water improved by freshly squeezed oranges. Few hours later I have regain some mind clarity to finally put this report together...
All the best,
Global Local