Costa Rica Day 4: Arenal to Manuel Antonio

On Tuesday morning we woke up early and prepared to leave one part of paradise for another! We enjoyed one last breakfast at Arenal, and took one more picture in front of the volcano. At 7:00 our Interbus shuttle arrived and we were on our way!

last photo at the Arenal volcano!

The ride from the Arenal area to Manuel Antonio was scenic and a fun experience. We enjoyed seeing more of Costa Rica as we drove south to the Pacific coast. We bought plantain chips and Chiky cookies at a rest stop—yum!

As we drove into Quepos, the town next to Manuel Antonio National Park, we became more and more excited for the second part of our trip! We noticed endless fields of palm trees along both side of the road. Quepos is a port city on the Pacific coast, and was once a large exporter of bananas, then chocolate. Now, the city's main product is palm oil from all those trees.

We arrived at our (gorgeous!) hotel around lunchtime and ate outside, next to the pool. We went American with bacon cheeseburgers, and enjoyed a leisurely meal as we marveled at the great views and beautiful surroundings.

lunch on the patio

Our room at this hotel (La Mansion Inn, if you're interested) was absolutely amazing! It was very spacious, with a view of the ocean. The hotel staff was very accommodating and helpful during our stay—chatting with us and helping us arrange tours.

the view of our lawn and the ocean

We moved our belongings into our room and then were off to explore a bit of Quepos. Our first stop was a grocery store to buy water and snacks. We almost went to one grocery store, but the taxi driver suggested that another store was much cheaper. We were, of course, grateful for the suggestion and took his advice! He also mentioned a nearby restaurant, so we headed there for dinner afterward. It was a local soda called Quepoa. Jason enjoyed arroz con camarones (seafood and rice) and I had a quesadilla. We both had fresh watermelon juice, which was so refreshing!

That evening we were tired from the long day of traveling, so we relaxed in our room, enjoying the TV and air conditioning (we had neither at the first hotel)!