cookbaketravellive: Travel - Costa Rica - Manuel Antonio National Park

On Friday I survived a series of unfortunate events that got me to Manuel Antonio! Firstly, there was an accident on the highway so the bus sat still for over an hour. I think it is worth mentioning that these buses don't have air conditioning, it was 31 Celsius, the bus was full, and I was sitting right at the front so I had no window to stick my head out of. Then the people going to Manuel Antonio (the last stop) had to get off the bus and onto a different one. I am guessing this was because we were so late and he probably had another trip to do. The new bus driver was very nice though. However, I had no idea what I was looking for so I figured I would wait until the last stop and then take a cab. Turns out that wasn't how it was meant to go; that would have been too easy! I told the bus driver where I was staying and he said he hadn't hear of it so he said I could get off the bus and ask the police officer that was standing right there and that he could drive me backward if I needed. So I went and asked and no one seemed to know where it was. Eventually I realized I was saying National Pacific Suites instead of Natural Pacific Suites. I don't know if that was why they hadn't heard of it (my version still sounds pretty similar) of if it is because the hotel is off the main stretch. Anyway, a taxi driver said he knew where it was, but it was going to cost $8 to get there. My bus ticket, that was a 3.5 hour drive, was less than $10; what a rip off! So I asked if it was safe to walk, and I was assured that I would be fine. So I got back no the bus and the bus driver dropped me off at the top of the street. Unfortunately he couldn't drive me down because the road was too narrow. So I start my stroll down this seemingly harmless street. The walk was all downhill so that was good, but it was really dark where there were no lamp posts. Luckily I had a flashlight!? That was a complete fluke because I didn't pack it intentionally. They told me it was about a mile so I kind of knew that after 15 minutes I might not have been going to the right place. So I stopped to ask. The concierge at the hotel told me that she thought it might be the hotel next door because they had recently changed their name. So I went next door and that hotel was huge so I got lost trying to find it. Eventually I found the gate attendant and through my crying I managed to tell him I was lost, and he proceeded to direct me to reception. Well! This lady was AMAZING! She saw I was really upset and she told to me sit down and that she would be happy to help me. She even got me a glass of water and asked if I wanted an iced tea! Part of me just wanted to give up and stay there, but the place I had reserved already had my credit card information. I told her where I was staying and that no one knew where it was and that the lady next door thought it was here. It wasn't, but she looked it up for me and tryed to figure out where it was. This where I learned I was saying National instead of Natural. Then she called to confirmed that is where I had the reservation and spoke to the concierge there, who said he had been waiting. After she hung up she told me that she would call me a cab and that is would cost about $10. Oh brother! It was only 7:30ish so I said I would walk. She gave me a map and carefully explained where to go, and I was on my way. So now I was walking UPHILL and I started crying which led me to start hyperventilating. Yup. I thought that I would pass out and fall down the cliff next to me so I started breathing like in the movies when women are giving birth. It worked... kind of. So I got back to the top of the hill (where I started) and then went the correct direction but for some reason I second guessed myself and turned around. Oops. So after 10 minutes of walking I stopped to ask, and that's when I found out I was going the wrong way... again. So I started back and I stopped one more time just to make sure, and once I knew I was going the right way I continued on. So I had to turn off the main road and it got kind of strange because it was all residential and people were just hanging out on the street, clearly doing so to make me nervous. I FINALLY got where I was going and proceeded to take out my frusterations on the concierge. After I had a shower I had to go down and apologize because I felt really guilty. It wasn't his fault that I got lost! He was nice about it and said he understood I had had a bad night. Then I started watching Pleham 123 because it was in English. It was an odd movie; I don't recommend you watch it. Then I couldn't sleep. I think it was a combination of guilt for lashing out at the concierge, the noise from the A/C, and the change in bed. But... when I woke up I got to have pancakes for breakfast! They were pretty good, and a nice change from all the eggs I have been eating! I had booked a tour guide to take me though the park and I got pick up by a cab at 7:45. When I met up with my group there was a lady from Toronto, and a really funny couple from Oregon. The wife said that her husband's off colour humour was due to the lack of entertaining things to do in Oregon. I thought everyone was really nice! My tour guide was amazing! I found him through another tour guide that has great reviews on Trip Advisor but was already booked. All the tour guides seemed to know each other and helped each other out. One would see something and the other guides would show their group as well. We saw some cool animals and had a few laughs. My drama from the night before was long forgotten. After the tour, the guide brought me back to where I was staying and I had a quick shower before having to check out. My cleanliness was short lived because it was seriously hot, so I started sweating as soon as I walked out of my air conditioned room! I went to a small cafe for lunch where I had the best veggie wrap of my entire life! I don't even know exactly what was in it, but I could have eaten another one without even thinking about it! It had lettuce, grilled veggies and a spicy hummus. I am drooling just thinking about it. At that point it was about 1:30 and my bus wasn't leaving until 5, so I took the bus down to the beach and walked around for a while. I ended up walking past a store where someone was trying to scare away monkeys with a broom. That was a fail. There were probably 6 monkeys having a good ole' time, and that broom wasn't going to spoil it for them! So I stood there, looking up, for about 5 minutes while people started to collect around me to get a look at the crazy monkeys! Once the heat started to get to be too much I went to get ice cream to cool down. I had blackberry gelato and sat directly under a ceiling fan... the best 2 dollars I spent all day (apart from the money I paid for my FANTASTIC lunch of course). Eventually 5 rolled around and after a few random conversations with some locals I said goodbye to Manuel Antonio and hello to a very uncomfortable bus ride back to San Jose.