Costa Rica Trip (Day 7)

January 2 - Friendship Bridge, Rio Tarcoles, and Beach Traffic
Today was another day of mucho bus time, as we left Guanacaste and headed south along the coast to Manuel Antonio. We passed lots of horse farms and also some cows in the road, including one that was clearly in the Christmas holiday mood:

Eventually, we passed over La Puente de la Amistad ("Friendship Bridge") before taking a rest stop at the Monteverde Co-Op for banos and helado. I was able to order a lime sorbetto, which was very refreshing. Then back onto the bus for a bit longer to reach our lunch spot before embarking on our 75-minute cruise on the Rio Tarcoles.

This river journey was full of lots of crocodiles and different types of birds. We even saw two pairs of red macaws flying high above us -- they're the only birds that fly in pairs rather than in groups or flocks. We also saw some little lizards and an iguana.

The journey from the river to Manuel Antonio was relatively smooth and easy until the very end, when we hit loads of traffic leaving the park and surrounding the public beach:

Our fabulous bus driver, L, had to perform some major feats of driving prowess to navigate around the traffic, the narrow streets, and the tight corner to reach the San Bada Hotel, which is literally just steps away from the entrance to the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio.

We were all surprised by the heat and humidity as we got off the bus and headed up to our rooms. We were welcomed with a towel rose on the bed and then headed up to the 6th floor roof deck for another beautiful sunset and Caravan-sponsored Happy Hour:

We also had a nice view of the big ground-level pool from the roof terrace:

Before dinner, we gathered to watch a Caravan-produced video that provided some background on the Manual Antonio Park and what we could expect during our visit the next day. Mr. E and I decided to take a dip in the pool after dinner to cool off, and I also confirmed that I could swim in the other (smaller but straight) pool on the 6th floor the next morning.