I set out around 10 in the morning, and other than knowing that I’d head down to the pacific coast again, I had not real plan or idea as to where to go, so first I drove down to Puntarenas. The drive down the mountain was actually quite fun, and for the most part was on a very dusty dirt road where at time I felt a bit like Raoul Duke, lost at the race track in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as I could not even see the hood of my car. I arrived in Puntarenas, around noon or so, and after one drive through the town, I decided to keep on heading south, as Puntarenas is not much more than a hub to connect other parts of the country, as in my opinion was actually quite filthy.. On the way down to Jaco there were a few nice views that I took in, and even saw a couple of parrots. In Jaco I went down to the beach, but did not enjoy the vibe of the town all that much either, so I just kept on driving, and ended up in Manuel Antonio around 5 pm, so I checked into La Colina, a nice little restaurant with sunset view rooms, one of which I got and very much enjoyed the sunset from there! In the evening I ate at their restaurant, a nice little Steak House that is open on all sides, and they actually use a wood BBQ grill.
The next day I drove down to Manuel Antonio National Parc, which turned out to be relatively small, or let’s rather say, the official hiking trails turned out to be quite short, but nonetheless make for some great views of for example the Hidden Harbor. The beaches on the other hand are very beautiful, and probably make it worth going to Manuel Antonio National Parc in any case!
I spent one more night in Manuel Antonio and then headed back to Jaco, as I had heard about a festival there, the Jungle Jam, a review of which can be found here.