Costa Rica Day 13 Manuel Antonio

Another amazing day in paradise! We had breakfast overlooking the ocean again and then got picked up for the day's adventure. 

Today we hiked up (and I mean UP) to a gorgeous waterfall called the Nauyaca waterfall.

The driver dropped us off for a 3km hike, the hike is mostly straight up, with a few downhill spots...just to be rewarded with more uphill around the next corner. My watch says we climbed 168 meters.

 This first waterfall photo was taken in front of the upper waterfall. Apparently all of those rocks were originally part of the rock face until they recently came down. Now they dont want people swimming up here...and I don't blame them!

 We were absolutely hot and sweaty after the climb and wasted no time getting in the water at the lower waterfall.

Of course, Cameron found a quiet spot where he could direct and redirect water flow and was in his glory for at least an hour over here. 

Our guide showed us the age reversing properties of the local rocks and mud 

 and we had a gorgeous picnic before heading back down.

The park has created a hospitable spot and these two macaus have made this place their home. They are absolutely stunning!

We were absolutely exhausted for the bus ride to "lunch" (it was 14:45 by the time we ate), which I take as a sign of a very successful day. We had a traditional lunch of meat, rice, salad and beans and then came back to the hotel.

 I will never tire of these views!

Cameron and I are now hanging out by the pool

This will be our last night here. Tomorrow we head back to San Jose to be in place for our flight home.

It's been an amazing adventure!

Costa Rica Day 11 Manuel Antonio

We woke up and had breakfast with the monkeys. It's hard to make out, but one of these monkeys had a baby with them.

It was adorable! There's a toucan in the greenery if you look closely

I took that photo from our balcony.

We said goodnight to a 15 year old last night, and this fantastic 16 year old woke up in his place.

We got picked up by our driver and went SUPing. We've never been before and it was so much fun.

easy come...easy go!

We did 3km in the ocean and we're all exhausted!

We had lunch at El Avion (the airplane restaurant) and then we spent a reasonably quiet afternoon before heading out for birthday dinner. We'd been scoping places out and Malcolm chose this place with an amazing view and burgers the size of his head!

What else would you want to eat if you're turning 16 and as hungry as a horse?

We were all in bed well before midnight, but Malcolm and I were awoken by the fireworks all around our room at the beginning of the new year. It was nice to sit up together and watch 2020 roll in.

Wishing each and every one of you an absolutely incredible 2020!

Costa Rica Day 10 ATVs in Manuel Antonio

We woke up this morning and enjoyed breakfast overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Our driver came to collect us and took us to our ATV excursion. We had an absolute blast!! 

We covered A LOT of ground on these things and topped 60km/h a few times.

We made every effort to get absolutely filthy and I am absolutely convinced that I'll be scrubbing dirt out of my pores for months to come!

Both boys had a ball and the parents did as well. In the middle of the ATV trip we did a short hike (less than a km each way) up to a fabulous waterfall and went for a swim. In no way did this make us any cleaner by the time we were done the excursion.

We'd had some minor issues with our first room, so we returned to our new room and THIS VIEW. 

I'm never leaving. Not ever.

We topped off this day with a dinner reservation to eat inside a train car.

Cameron was obviously thrilled.

Malcolm ate half a pizza and then ordered a hamburger. It's safe to say that he'll be taller than Dave by the time we get home from this trip!!