We arrived in Quepos after a long day of traveling. Four hours by bus from Monteverde to San Jose. Then the mission of finding a suitcase at the airport … which thanks to Cubana air had detoured via Caracas and arrived 10 days after the flight!! This was followed by a few hours waiting in an apology of a restaurant that charged like a 3 star Michelin restaurant for street food. This was topped off with a three-hour shuttle trip to Quepos.
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There were some interesting young travellers on the shuttle going to the annual Envision festival in a forest in Uvita - 4 days from Thursday to Sunday. A young Lithuanian student who was going with the attitude of “what happens in the forest stays in the forest”. An Indian yoga teacher in her early 30’s “still looking for a husband who shares my passion for travel” although at last her mother has “accepted things as they are”.
We stayed in an apartment in an eco-estate on the edge of town - in the jungle and overlooking the swimming pool. Very beautiful but to get up to the apartment there was a steep - trudging steep - hill.
The weather was near perfect. Hot sunny days and mild balmy evenings.
Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve
Quepos is situated a few kilometres from the Manuel Antonio nature reserve. Conveniently served by a regular and cheap bus service throughout the day.
This park is small but apparently the number one attraction in Costa Rica. It’s hard to understand why after visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest.
The entrance fee was $16 per person. The waterfall was a trickle, the park is overrun with tourists and there are few animals ... the only redeeming features are the two beaches. They are idyllic.
We wildlife sightings were – two sloths – so high in the canopy that they were virtually invisible - two stripe tailed raccoons – a very damaged white faced capuchin monkey – and a chameleon. Hardly the Big 5!
Quepos
Quepos is a small town which is pleasantly not too overrun with tourists. The weather is temperate with year round maximum and minimum temperatures around 30 C and mid to low 20’s. Very liveable.
The downside of Quepos is that it is the conduit for all visitors to Manuel Antonio park and the traffic in the morning and evening is busy. The roads are narrow and with buses going in both directions one is often required to stop.
This visit left a positive impression. It has all the characteristics of a laid back Central American town. Nothing too impressive nothing too rushed.
Pura Vida!