Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica – February 25, 2020

Hello Everyone…

We are about halfway through our 3-month excursion in the beautiful country of Costa Rica.  Dave and I are spending our “first winter away” in this sunny destination, specifically in the Manuel Antonio area.

Our time thus far has been relaxing and recharging…as well as heavily educational!  We spent 5 weeks straight, 4 hours/day, 5 days/week attending the Manuel Antonio Spanish School.  Our teacher Daniel, along with his partner Rebecca, run a wonderful business where language itself is not the only thing being taught.  We have delved heavily into the culture, learning the differences even in how people think in comparison to our own North American upbringing.  Daily excursions in the afternoons and evenings are a weekly treat.  From movie nights (often historical in natural offered in Spanish with English subtitles), to afternoon hikes, Salsa dancing, trivia nights and of course, one of our favourites, weekly visits to “La Feria de Agricultor” the Farmer’s Market. 

We rented a small house off Valle Pura Vida (Valley of Pure Life) in a small complex called Rio Mono (Monkey River).  We literally back onto the jungle so daily visits from exotic birds such as Macaw’s and Toucan’s, and of course the monkeys!  There are three main types of monkeys that inhabit this area of Costa Rica.  The small squirrel monkey (called Mono Titi in Spanish), the white-faced monkey and the Howler monkey.  Mono Titis travel in groups (as most of them do) and will come quite close to the house.  They can be a bit mischievous and it’s very important not to feed them!  This is something we’ve learned more and more as we (as humans) do not understand that their natural diet does not include bananas!  They eat seeds, insects and some grasshoppers to name a few.  Although they like the taste of banana – a small group joined us for breakfast and quickly took some off our plate, it’s important that they are not fed due to the change in diet which cannot naturally be absorbed along with the natural bacteria that’s on our hands.  It can cause birth defects and truly harm the population.  Lesson to all!

The white-faced monkey’s also can be found playing in the afternoon, but they are a bit more timid.  They put on quite the show though with swinging around and playing with each other.  The last is the Howler monkeys.  For a creature that is around 2-feet tall (not including their tail), they make the sound of a 7-foot gorilla!  Always a privilege to witness these wonderful creatures in their own habitat.  As previously mentioned, we have daily visits from the exotic birds.  The Makaw, which is parrot like in its shape and colours, have a nest on the property.  They mate for life so you will never see one alone and are a very affectionate bird to one another.  Their name is suggestive of the sounds they make…for as beautiful and stunning as they are, their natural “call” can be somewhat deafening, especially if you get a small group together!  There is something to be said for the honour of living amongst this beauty. 

We have become like locals in our town.  We decided from the beginning that we did not want a car.  We would walk to school every day (about 20 minutes door to door) breathing in the fresh humid air (and admittedly some exhaust fumes) as we made our daily trek down the main road (618) running between Manuel Antonio and Quepos.  We are regulars on the bus to take us back and forth between Manuel Antonio and Quepos (distance of about 7KM) but Manuel Antonio is on the mountain where Quepos is at sea level.  We are living right in between the two towns, nestled in about a 5-min walk from the main road so no traffic noise, just the sounds of the jungle.

It’s an interesting thing to point out that last year Dave was diagnosed with Asthma.  He requires two different inhalers (when home in Ontario, Canada) and would often wheeze on a nightly walk regardless of the time of year.  We arrived here and as of day 3, he has never touched them…he just has not needed to.  I assure you that our walking efforts (usually in an uphill direction) would be indicative of requiring the extra medical support, but the climate has been nothing but healing for both of us. 

Quepos and Manuel Antonio have a combined population of about 22,000 people. It is located about 60KM (in a straight line) from the capital of San Jose, but unless you’re a bird, it’s 157KM (approximately 2.5-3-hour car ride) by road.  The climate here is warm year-round.  Daily highs of around 32 and nighttime lows of 28 degrees, make it an enjoyable climate – especially if you’re not a fan of winter.  What I really want to state here is about the people. In all of our travels, we have yet to find a comparable country that matches the warmth and kindness of the Costa Rican people in this area.  We came to this area 3 years ago, so it was an easy decision for us to return for our 3-month excursion.  We have found it common practice that if we go into a restaurant (especially a family owned one) we have members always greet us warmly, (some offering us hugs, handshakes or cheek-kisses) before you even get their name.  Culturally, nuances of the language is quite different in this country too.  For example, many of us know the term “De nada” (as a “you’re welcome” from the Mexican culture) but that literally translates to “It’s nothing.”  Here, “you’re welcome” is always, “con mucho gusto” which literally translates to, “with much pleasure.”

During our time we have experienced some amazing treats.  A phenomenal 6-hour hike from Quepos to Manuel Antonio, up and down the various mountains and along the beach.  It was a strenuous hike; I believe my iPhone stated that we climbed 109 floors and did just over 22,000 steps.  The breaks in between provided us glimpses at almost every shoreline from either above or below, so many swims along the way.  We capped this day off by taking a taxi to the town of Naranjito where we had a late lunch at a local place called Koky’s that serves Chicharrones.  Chicharrones are typically made by frying pork skins in their own fat, which produces a hard, crackly shell often called chicharron de pellejo.  They are served with Yuca (similar to a potato but tubular in shape and quite common in many Costa Rican dishes).  I can state that after that arduous hike, we devoured a couple of plates of this tremendous dish – along with a few cervezas!

We also had the opportunity to witness the release of some baby turtles.  From the Boca Vieja Pier (5-minute walk heading out of Quepos), we took a water taxi across, then got into the back of a pick-up truck and drove for approximately 10KM down the serene and untouched beach.  There, we met a local who lives with his family, and created a small not-for-profit for protecting turtle eggs, protecting them from natural predators.  For the release, we watched as they slowly made their way to the ocean waters.  It’s important not to just walk and “dump them in” if you will, as the turtles have to gain a sense of making their own way so they will know where to come back to nest in the future, continuing the cycle.

Additionally, Dave and I try to get involved in community activities.  A couple of weeks ago we went to this same area (but much closer to Quepos) where locals have lived and yet have no regulated garbage pick-up.  Since this has been an ever-lasting lifestyle, people tend to burn their garbage or bury it on the beach.  We spent hours on an early Saturday morning collecting bags of garbage and recyclables, digging up a small bar fridge and satellite dish, along with a wire mattress frame as an example.  One can immediately presume the “why don’t they just…” formula but we have come to understand that it all begins with education and infrastructure.  Where Canada is advanced to where we are today, we weren’t always so different.  And with a country population of around 5 million, things do tend to take on a much slower process in implementing things like this.  They at least understand now that there’s an issue, but like many societal things, it sometimes can take a couple of generations to make significant change.  They are beginning to educate their young in schools and we can all hope for that change to come over the coming years.

We have been so blessed with this opportunity of living, experiencing and learning and we will continue to strive to count those blessings and experiences as the privilege for what it is.

Wishing everyone well.

Love to all,

D&D
xoxo