Quepos, Costa Rica

After another little jaunt on a series of small toy planes, Chris and I arrived at our last destination on Day Six of our trip. Welcome to Quepos, Costa Rica!

Quepos took us back to the coast again, but this time we were in the southern part of Costa Rica. This beach area was very different than Tamarindo. It wasn’t as touristy. And the water was a lot rougher, so the surf wasn’t people like me taking surf lessons. There were rough rocks and rip tides and only really skillful surfers were out there. Everything about Quepos just felt very real. Like that’s what it would REALLY be like to live in Costa Rica.

Well, what it would really be like to live in a five-star resort in Costa Rica.

In Quepos, we stayed at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront and Rainforest Resort. It was a beautiful five-star hotel situated in the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Seriously. It was as beautiful as it sounds.  Within 15 minutes of arriving, Chris and I booked a couples massage at the resort spa that overlooked the beach.  It was an hour of heaven, especially after that tense and bumpy plane ride.

The spa and resort were fantastic.  This is the view from the hotel lobby, which is open-air, by the way. It looks out over a gorgeous pool, which looks out over the side of the cliff out into the ocean. Not too shabby. And see those little cafe tables with people eating? That’s where the continental breakfast was served. Fo’ real. I mean, who wouldn’t want to start their day like that????

The hotel was actually several different buildings all nestled in the cliffside. You could either walk up these steep, curvy hills to each area, or you could call for a hotel golf cart. Needless to say, I rode in a LOT of golf carts. My calves were on vacation, too.

Our hotel room was smaller here than in the other hotels, but honestly we hardly noticed. It was gorgeous, comfortable, and luxurious in really awesome ways. Like, all international calls were free! Which meant that after a week of traveling, we could finally call home to the babies! Another perk of a luxury hotel? The mini bar was free! And – bonus – it was filled with all local treats and snacks. Even though it was the smallest in size, this hotel was at the top of my list.

It had this great balcony where Chris and I sat one morning to have breakfast. In the rainforest out a bit, I pointed out this little spider monkey that was climbing from tree to tree.

“Look!” I laughed. “He’s coming closer!”

But, he never stopped. That little monkey was booking it from tree to tree, headed straight for our balcony. Right before he jumped onto our balcony and tried to take our food, we ran inside and hid!  Those monkeys can be mean!

That one psychotic monkey aside, there were all kinds of wildlife and animals for us to see in Quepos. Around the hotel property, there were packs (?) of different kinds of monkeys, tons of iguanas, and those raccoon thingys.

But we saw most of the wildlife on our walking hike of Manuel Antonio State Park. Though this is the smallest national park in Costa Rica, it is the most visited. And with so much to see, it didn’t surprise me at all. We saw some really different things, like this African Killer Bee hive! It’s hard to see, but it’s at the top of this tree trunk…

We also got the best view of a sloth! I didn’t know they were so cute!

And we saw giant monkeys, too! This one even stuck his tongue out at us!

The hike through this forest took us along a beach where a lot of locals bring their families to play because the water is better. It’s protected by a little cove, so there aren’t any rip tides, which are really common in Quepos. We stopped for half an hour on our hike to sit by the beach and relax. It was a great way to spend a morning after a long hike.

We got back to our hotel around lunch time and ate out by the beach, drinking more fruity, frozen drinks and talking about how much we were missing the kids after a whole week away. After lunch, we walked about half an hour down the beach to the little town of Manuel Antonio to do a little souvenir shopping. The town had a lot more people than our resort area, but it was still very quaint and full of more locals than tourists. We grabbed a beer at a beach side cafe and shopped around until sunset.

The walk back was gorgeous and the perfect way to end our last full day in Costa Rica.

For our last night in Costa Rica, we got all dressed up and had dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was delicious! I had this amazing traditional meal of rice and beans, but it was INSANELY delicious. We drank and ate and laughed and talked about how much we had enjoyed spending time together on our trip.

(Sorry for the poor pictures. I didn’t want to haul my big camera to a nice dinner, so these are from my iPhone.)

The next morning we had a four hour drive by car to the international airport in the capital, San Jose. It was a beautiful drive through the country side, and it was over before we knew it. We found ourselves suddenly standing in the airport check in line with our baggage, and two bags full of souvenirs.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a more relaxing vacation. It was a perfect time for me and Chris to reconnect and spend some time together after the past few years of crazy transitions and changes. Maybe the best part of the trip for me was finding that even after twelve years together and even after all these changes in our relationship and family, Chris and I still really enjoy spending time together. We still LIKE each other. We still have things to say to each other. We still laugh at each other.

Within 24 hours of coming home, the kids were sick again, work was hectic again, bills were due again, and life went on. It has been hard to keep that same excitement for each other alive here in the real world that we had in Costa Rica, but at the end of the day, our lives were very happy in Costa Rica, but they are still happier here. I guess sometimes you have to travel pretty far to realize how lucky you are right there in your own home.