Manuel Antonio: town and national park

We spent a couple nights in the town of Manuel Antonio, and the second day, went into the National Park.  We were aware that it is Costa Rica's most popular tourist destination, and expected to see swarms of tourists, even in the off season...

Sure enough, the beach in Manuel Antonio was packed, but we stayed off the beaten path, walked through the jungle, saw some amazing creatures, and went back to the beach as it started getting later in the day.  When we got back there, we were the only people there, which was quite a treat, and made for an amazing photo op, with the sunset that night being epic.  I guess the park closes at sunset, and sure enough a security guard came down to the beach to tell us to leave, but that little while of solidarity was perfect.  It's only $10 to enter the park for the day.

 

Sunset over Manuel Antonio from "El Baile de la Iguana," our hotel for the  night