The mid-point

Sunburns, bug bites, migraine (not mine), beer fest, colds and sniffles, monkeys, beach, seafood, mishaps….

The past few days at Manuel Antonio have been a mixed bag, but overall pleasant and relaxing.  We arrived late Thursday, and our three families settled into our house.  We ordered pizza for dinner and the kids jumped into the swimming pool. Friday we went to Michael’s friend’s restaurant, Café Milagro (and I bought some of the owner’s delicious coffee to bring home), for a delicious breakfast; the rest of the morning was spent getting groceries for the house at the local Maxi-Pali (owned by Walmart, believe it or not). 

It's so hard to wait for your food!

Michael and Ale

Beckett enjoying his breakfast

Sophia, obviously not enjoying the interruption

Tati, always a good sport

Ray and Gaël, who was apparently dying of hunger

The best breakfast award goes to the mango crepes with blackberry sauce

We drove past the marina in neighboring Quepos where Michael’s beer fest would be held on Saturday.  We let the kids relax by the pool and grilled some meat for dinner. 

A Michael in his natural habitat

Saturday Heidi was laid up with a killer migraine, Michael jumped into the pool with his phone in his pocket, Patrice started to get a cold, and the kids were crabby.  Something was definitely in the air.  Ray, his son, and I drove to Quepos to visit the beer festival and watch the Costa Rica vs. Netherlands game.  The terrible heat was oppressive, even overlooking the breezy Pacific.  But the beer and beer-style mead were amazing.  

The heat didn’t allow me to sample much, but I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere and meeting this new breed of microbrewer in Costa Rica.  Craft beers have really taken off during the last few years, and Michael and Ale have discovered a niche market of mead, using their own honey and completely local products such as purple corn from the Nicoya Peninsula, and hibiscus, mango, and passionfruit from their back yard.  The result is light and refreshing, with an interesting and complex finish.

Ticos and other enjoying the game

Did I mention it was hot?

We left just before Costa Rica went into overtime, and stopped by the local small grocery to get a few things.  We watched the last penalty shots from the checkout line, and when they lost, it was like a funeral.  We quietly paid and left.  Later that afternoon, Heidi wasn’t feeling any better, and Ray took her to the local hospital to get checked out while we looked after all the kids.  By the time they got back, we had two hours for Patrice and me to go and enjoy the festival.  We tasted beers, listened to a band doing covers from the 70s and 80s, then a Costa Rican drum group with dancers.  We helped Michael tear down the tent, packed everything up, and returned around 11 p.m.  What a day!

Sunday we decided to take it easy and visit a beach.  By law, no beaches in Costa Rica can be private, so although there was a fancy hotel right there, and they took us down from the parking lot to the beach in golf carts, we had full access to the beach.  The surf was high and slightly dangerous, and the hotel lifeguards were watching like hawks.  But the kids couldn’t resist the urge to get knocked down over and over by the huge waves.  We had a nice lunch with a view of the small bay, and we saw the famous Manuel Antonio wildlife—capuchin monkeys and a three-toed sloth.

Breathtaking views

Ceviche in a coconut for lunch

Love these little guys

A little out of focus, but cute nonetheless

Today marks the beginning of our second half of our trip.  Just for a bit of more disappointing news, we found out from our guidebooks that Manuel Antonio park is closed on Mondays.  We had planned to avoid the crowds by going on a weekday today, but unless we try to go early on our way out of town tomorrow, we won’t get to enter the park.  Ugh.  But I’ve learned from many years of travel to just get over the disappointment as quickly as possible and move on to the next adventure.  Which is right around the corner.