Quepos…..a tropical town nestled against a rainforest

 Quepos

Our drive to Quepos from La Fortuna was about 4.5 hours and took us past some interesting places.  We stopped by the Tarcoles River Bridge to see their famous huge crocodiles.  Many years ago, on my visit to Costa Rica, I remember taking a boat tour along this river & wanted to show Bob.  And we got to see them sunbathing!  It’s quite a happening spot.

Crocodiles 

Bridge stores!

We arrived in Quepos in the late afternoon, and drove past a huge marina- seems that this town is known for its sport fishing.  Whale watching is also done from July to November bringing lots of tourists.  It seems like a sleepy town in that not much seems to be going on……basically, a waterfront promenade, and lots of people eating at small restaurants.  We headed off the main road and went up a steep narrow road filled with pot holes. Finally, we arrived at our Airbnb, The Treehouse.  Yep, this house was built on trees with the help of a few beams.  It was kinda like a wooden structure with screens, a very workable kitchen, and a bed with optional mosquito net.  The temperatures were in the mid-high 90’s during our stay and we had no air conditioning…..it took a few days to ‘acclimatize’ .  Thank God there was a ceiling fan and another small fan- made it tolerable.  There were geckos running around on the walls which we didn’t mind as they ate insects…..you get the picture.  It’s not a place for most of you, but being campers, it worked out okay.                                                   

Our bathroom built around a tree

Great pool

Living area

Quepos is the gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park which we visited on two separate days, the first with a guide.  It is the smallest Costa Rican national park with a lush, green rainforest and a beautiful white sand beach.  Here we were able to see 2 & 3 toed sloths, many iguanas, and a boa constrictor. 

                             

   

2toed sloth- pig nose!

                            

3 toed sloth- happy face!                                     

Black spiny-tailed iguana -Ctenosaura

Basilisk- “Jesus Christ Lizard”

We also learned about the Buffy-crowned wood-partridge which looks like a big wild chicken.  They forage by scratching around in loose leaves which we observed.  Our guide said that they are good to eat, but that’s illegal!

                            

Now, the monkeys were my favorite in the park.  We saw 3 of the 4 types of monkeys i. Costa Rica. The white faced capuchin is said to be one of the smartest type of monkey.  They seemed to be watching the tourists watching them!  Their tail is not prehensile, but still helps with their balance. We saw several howler monkeys and watched a pair of them sitting in the trees.  They are quite large and use their tail as a 5th hand to pick branches.  Their howl is quite frightening ! Their tail is not prehensile, but still helps with their balance. And our favorite, the gray crowned Central American squirrel monkeys, put on quite a show for us along one particular trail, jumping from branch to branch. And seemed to be following us.  One even had a baby on its back which was so cool.  They are the smallest and rarest of monkeys, found only in a few areas of Costa Rica & Panama. Their prehensile tail and can be longer than their body and it ends in an intense black coloration.

White faced capuchin

Howler monkeys           

   

Squirrel monkey 

Then there was the land crabs that we saw burrowing and digging along a sandy bank.  These are called the jungle Halloween crab or just red land crab. The color was magnificent!

                                      

The national park was amazing, so we spent 2 different days there to take it all in! On our last day in Quepos, we had a lovely beach day @ Playa Biesanz.  We packed some towels and parked nearby while some guys “watched our car” for 2 colones ($4).  For $20 USD’s, we got 2 chairs NS an umbrella- perfect! The beach was very pretty, the water was so nice and I loved it!  Vendors offered ceviche, massages, kayaks, etc but didn’t hound us and we ordered MaiTai’s- delicious.

                                                      

 After our beach day, we stopped by a beautiful Resturant, Pappilon Resturante.  The rooftop was 1000 feet and the views of Manual Antonio Beach were stunning.  The food was one of our favorite meals.

                                       

                                              

So, the next day, we headed back towards San Jose, dropped off our car and stayed at our final Airbnb which we also really loved.  It offered rooms and a cafe.  A local family has run this  establishment for decades. They arranged a taxi for us to the airport. Here’s some final shots.

                                             

The End