Monkeys, Sloths, toucans, zip lines oh my! Manuel Antonio is a fun filled destination emerging from the jungle and jutting into the pacific coast. It’s no wonder it’s a big tourist destination with the national park full of incredible hiking, beautiful white sand beaches and friendly people. 
Day 1: Making up for lost time and no bags we headed across the street to Cafe Milagro for a little Costa Rican cofee and breakfast and fell in love with this quiant little cafe. After relaxing into our surroundings we decided it wasn’t worth worrying about our bags and it was a good excuse to get a new swimsuit and support the locals. We wandered down the street and stumbled on a little surf shop called Beso Loco. Natalie, an expat from Ontario, was an awesome help. She had as much fun as we did pulling out all different combinations of suits, trunks and t-shirts. It became a bit of a fashion show and with so many great options it was difficult to make a decision. Admittedly, it was as much fun for Chad as it was for Katie because everything looked great. We finally made some choices and got out of there and were off to the beach.
Day 2: And off we go with a packed agenda of Zip Lining and wildlife scoping through the National Park. We booked our Canopy Tour through El Santuario Canopy Adventure Tours and were out the door by 7am for coffee and to meet the bus. There were 14 Tree Platforms, 3 Towers, 6 Hanging Bridges, 1 Double Belay Rappel and the adventure included the longest zip line in Costa Rica coming it at 4300 feet!
After an exhillerating morning we made a quick turn and headed straight to the Park for a quick tour and a little relaxing on the beach. We got our tickets, met a tour guide – to which Katie haggled him down in price – and off we were scouting for wildlife. On our 1.5 hour hike through the park we saw several 3 toed & 2 toed Sloths, bats, snakes, frogs, monkeys and many birds thanks to our guide. Although we aren’t ‘tour’ people the guide was totally worth it, he had a great eye and pointed out things that we wouldn’t have spied on our own; not to mention he had a few good jokes along the way.
The Park closes pretty early so we made our way to El Avion for an amazing sunset. We ran into a couple of guys we’d met on the Zip Line tour and cheersed to a great day and incredible sunset. A successful, non stop day was deserving of a cocktail and relaxation.