A day at the beach...

Here at the Villabosque hotel we are just 1-1/2 blocks from the entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park.  What makes the park so unique is that you walk through the park (sort of like a walk in the Arboretum) and it comes out at the beach.  There is an entrance fee, and only 400 visitors are allowed per day.  On the way in , we were fortunate to see crabs, a fire-billed (aracari) toucan and a few sloths.  

The water was quite calm, as the beach itself is sort of cove-like.  All of our kids played in the water, rolled in the sand, and only when someone suggested that there was a shark fin in the distance did they move closer to shore.  The “fin” was a floating log, but if that is what it took to get them to stay close to shore, it was worth the prank. 

About an hour in to our stay a few kids were stung by jelly fish.  Not too uncommon in these warm waters, but painful nonetheless.  These kiddos (my own daughter included) opted to rinse off early, and were treated to a show of at least a dozen white faced monkeys.  They were above and around our picnic table, and it was quite the photo op.  One naughty monkey even stole the sack lunch from a neighboring picnic table.

After 2 hours of frolicking in the waves, we headed back to our hotel, weaving through the outskirts of town.  However, the inlet water was too high at this exit to cross on foot so we hired a local fishing boat to schlep us across the waterway in 3 separate trips.  The pictures from this short trip are quite unique as the boats are local fishing boats, not accustomed to working with tourists.

We took a large group of kids back down to the waterfront area this afternoon, and in spite of the intense sun of the heat of the day (95+) they managed to again shop their socks off.  A few pictures of this adventure are also here on the blog.

Tonight we took the kids to dinner at a restaurant known for its spectacular ocean view – and with the hopes of watching the sunset.  Instead they were treated to yet another intense thunder/lightning show over the Pacific.  Personally I thought it was better than any Fourth of July show back home. 

We’ve received rave reviews from the hotel about the kids’ behavior.  This has been true really all along the way.  While some are tiring of the food, others are doing all they can to continue eating typical cuisine right up until the final meal on Monday morning.  We have no serious sun burned kids, and other than a few with some large bites they are otherwise quite healthy.  One or two have battled a head cold, yet been troopers throughout.  Do know they are returning exhausted – always evidence that they have been busy and had fun!