At one point, I somehow, by some miracle, managed to see a little crab the size of a big spider (not tarantula sized, grand daddy long legs sized) that had camouflaged itself on a tree and was moving slowly. It took five minutes to get my parents to be able to see the thing, and I even used the zoom on the camera.
There was a beach as well, which was nice. The waves were pretty and mesmerizing… I just wanted to sit down and stare out at the horizon as the sun set. I did what I always do, and attempted to touch the water without drenching my shoes. Drenched shoes are REALLY not fun.
We went off on a little path twice. The first one had few people, and was extremely jungley. For instance, we had intimate time with a number of different plants. My mother had told me to not touch any of these plants if I could help it, considering that we didn’t know which ones were poisonous, if any, and things of such. So much for that. I’m not dead, and I don’t have any major rashes or anything like that, so I’m probably okay.
I learned something about myself that I really hadn’t taken note of before then. When I go up steep hills, I get headaches, and my head starts throbbing. It gets better a little ways along flat ground after climbing the steep hill.
Jesus lizards were viewed by us, as well as some other kind of lizard that liked to be lethargic and think that it was a leaf. Jesus lizards can run on water for a short distance without sinking. They’re fast. Plus, they really don’t like their pictures taken, so be sure to ask first.
Now, don’t get me wrong on this, the place was pretty, but it’s not exactly notable to me. Nobody else knows about it really. Not that I really care, I think that it was cool, but when I go home to tell my stories to people and things, everyone will look at me kind of strange, and be all like “where, what, and why?” Even more notable places here in Costa Rica, like Arenal Volcano (My mom still says that the city was Arenal, it’s La Fortuna. J), will not be considered notable by the general public back home. It sucks a little, but some stories everybody might get, like the earthquake.
The trip to Manuel Antonio National Park is about 2 and ½ hours from where we are located in Atenas by car. If you follow the signs to Orotina, and then the signs to Jaco (yaco), you should get to a place where you’ll start seeing signs for Manuel Antonio National Park (follow them).
