Manuel Antonio Beach - Day 1

Manuel Antonio 2013

Thursday, February 7

We have lived in Costa Rica for over 4 months and we finally planned a trip to the beach.  Kirsten and Ryan and their three boys made the trip with us.  We had help from Hector to pick out the beach and the hotel, friends in San José who bought us bus tickets so that we would not have to make the trip longer, and of course we had help from God as His blessed us through out our trip.

Thursday Morning:  Eddie did not sleep much the whole night because he was sick.  He spent most of the night on the toilet or feeling nauseous.  We debated canceling the trip, but knew that our reservations were non-refundable.  Despite Eddie’s miserable state, we packed up and headed to the first bus.

7:00am: We took Bus #1 to Turrialba.  This 45-minute bus ride was miserable for Eddie. Every time the bus stopped, he felt like running off and vomiting.  There was a trash can near by, so at least he had a safety net.  We mistakenly sat in the back of the bus with all of our luggage and the ride was pretty bumpy.  He was green!

We arrived at the bus stop and had 15 minutes before our next bus.  He made it to the bathroom, and I bought him some Gatorade.  The boys played on the toy cars until it was time to go.

My sick husband... pobresito!

8:00am: We boarded Bus #2 to San José.  This bus was very nice.  It was cushioned and had air conditioning.  Eddie’s goal was to make it another almost 2 hours on this bus before needing the bathroom.  

My sleepy boy... que lindo!

The GORGEOUS view from the bus.

We made it to San José, but after 1 ½ hours of misery, he told us he had to get off the bus.  We all exited and he made it into a McDonald’s bathroom.   The McDonald’s was a blessing in disguise.  Thank you, Lord!  It was a great place to let the kids play and eat.  Check out the mini french fries...

The bathroom was clean and free (as opposed to the nasty ones at the bus stop that you have to pay for).  Also, there was a pharmacy right next door.  It helps that one of our traveling companions happens to be a doctor.  Kirsten took Eddie to the pharmacy and found him some medicine.  It was meant to make him drowsy so he could survive the next leg of the trip.  He was so sick that he was debating just staying in San José in a hotel until he felt better, but we convinced him to keep going.

We walked out to the street to catch a taxi to the next bus station.  God continued to bless us.  When we crossed the street, there were two taxies waiting.  We hopped in and were on our way.  

We arrived at the next bus stop around 11:10, and met some friends who, earlier in the week, had bought us tickets for the 12:00 bus.  We paid them for the tickets and chatted until it was time to go.  

12:00pm: We boarded Bus #3 to La Playa de Manuel Antonio.  This bus ride was expected to be about 3 ½ hours, but thankfully it stops half way at a rest stop.  Eddie’s seat was the front one right next to an open window.  It was another blessing from God.  He slept almost the whole way, and we arrived at the hotel around 4:00.  

Noah and Ocean were happy to have arrived... actually we all were!!!

We checked in and Eddie hit the bed!

 Poor Eddie...

 This is the front of our hotel room... how romantic... too bad my husband is sick...

Jaden and I and the other family headed out to the beach and left Eddie in peace and quiet.  Manuel Antonio is a beautiful beach.  

We all went in the water because it was so hot out and the ocean felt like bath water.  As we walked out on to the beach, we realized we were kind of intruding on a beach wedding.  The bride was in front of us, but she stopped.  We kept walking and felt like we were the bridesmaids and groomsmen and ring bearers… thankfully, they weren’t quite ready to start the wedding, so we got out of the way on time.

We hung out on the beach until sunset, and Eddie ventured out just in time to see the last 5 minutes of the sun setting on the sea!  We all enjoyed the sunset tremendously.

Jaden, on the other hand, was now the unhappy one.  When he walked in the sand he was fine, but as soon as a wave hit his feet, he was terrified.  I think he would have walked all the way back to our hotel room if I would have let him.  He was pretty upset. 

Ocean and the ocean and the sunset.

Eventually, we went back to the room and showered and got ready for dinner.  Breakfast and dinner were included in the price of the hotel, so we hoped for some good food.  We were not disappointed.  The first night they served us salad, mahi mahi, and dessert and a natural fruit drink.  The kids ate quesadillas, and every one was happy.  We headed to bed and anticipated a wonderful weekend to come!