"....And Then The Monkey Got Electrocuted" (Quepos (Costa Rica))

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Quepos (Costa Rica)
Date:	21/01/09 (221 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice beaches

Disadvantages: Not a lot else

Quepos and Manuel Antonio are neighbouring towns on Costa Rica's Pacific Coast, and I stayed here for 2 nights in December. Located about 100 miles from the capital of San Jose, they are the beach resorts of choice for a large number of tours in the country.

We arrived in Quepos on a Sunday lunchtime, having driven down from Monteverde Cloud Forest. Along the way we passed Palm Tree farms, sweet little villages and a crocodile infested river where we stopped to admire the creatures. Even though it was about a 4 hour drive, it went quickly as we sped through the countryside, but we were all anxious to get to Quepos and hit the beach, after a few rainy and muddy days. Arriving into Quepos, my heart sank, as the route in is not an especially attractive one. The town looked less developed than the other places we'd been visiting, and not in a cute, full of charm way, but in a sad, rundown one. We stopped for lunch at a place called Chicken on the Run, a local version of KFC, which did nothing to appease these thoughts. It looked like an inner-city school canteen, with big metal trays and lots of grease. That this was "a cheap place in an otherwise expensive town" according to our guide also did not make me feel much better about our 2 day stay. Happily things improved - we checked into the lovely Le Priss hotel, and hit the beach - and in the end it turned out that Quepos was quite an ok place, despite first impressions.

Our hotel was located slightly out of the centre, but that also meant it was away from the noise at night. An easy 15 minutes stroll took us to the main area, which spans maybe 5 or 6 blocks leading off the promenade. Here we found a few shops (mainly for souvenirs, and lingerie. Those Costa Ricans are obsessed with underthings shops) and a selection of restaurants open all day, since many hotels here did not serve breakfast. One night we ate at Dos Locos, a Mexican restaurant, where the decor included a blow up Homer Simpson dressed as Santa... The food was good but some items were priced out of proportion - I paid $5 for what turned out to be a tiny sliver of chocolate cake. I also had lunch in a lovely Italian place, L'Angolo, which had only 6 tables attached to a small deli. The food, however, was delicious, the cheapest I found in the town, and served by real live Italians. A lot of the hotels in town also have restaurants open to non-residents, many with entrances from the street so you don't necessarily realise you're in a hotel. Most places serve a variety of food - rice, pasta, pizza, steak - rather than being cuisine specific. Somewhere we would have tried had we stayed longer is El Avion, a restaurant on the road from Quepos to Manuel Antonio which is housed in and around an old Fairchild C-123 plane. We drove past is on the way to and from the beach, and it certainly looked different.

Something I found strange was our Guide's concern that Quepos was an exceptionally dangerous place and one we should not wander round at night. This did make me wonder (a) why our tour company sends all their tours there and (b) why he had taken us into the centre for dinner if it wasn't safe to come back from there alone. Though I was quite happy to wander off (what with being someone who laughs in the face of "danger" and lives in Mexico City, for crying out loud) the mothers on the tour did not seem to have the faith that my own mother has in me, so I stuck with the pack as we went for a quick shop, and even then our (male, Costa Rican native) guide was not happy. From my perspective, this was not an overly worrying place. Yes, it gets very dark at night, and yes, in a big tourist resort like this there are always going to be bad people ready to take advantage of unsuspecting foreigners, but I never felt threatened as we walked around, or scared to be out and about alone, and the sheer number of people out dancing on the streets (where salsa bands set up at night) or grabbing a bite from the puestos (street food stands) was actually reassuring, not off putting.

The town of Quepos itself does not boast a lot of attractions. Traditionally a fishing village, there is still a harbour which lies where ideally a nice, sandy beach would. The walk along the promenade is pleasant though, and at night this area comes alive with food and bric-a-brac stalls, with enticing signs such as "500 Colones!" which somehow translates as "Most but not everything here costs $1, but the stuff that doesn't costs a whole lot more". There are tour offices offering trips out of town - zip lining, canyoning, kayaking, snorkelling trips and mangrove tours are their usual fare. Other "attractions", and I'm using the term loosely, include a Catholic church, a football pitch that could do with having its grass cut, a town hall and a cemetery. None of this matters, though, because you come to Quepos for one thing and one thing alone - to visit the nearby area of Manuel Antonio.

Manuel Antonio is one of the more famous national parks in Costa Rica. Though also the smallest in the country, it is exceedingly popular due to the fact that it boasts half a dozen beaches on its perimeter. Our first afternoon, we drove the 20 minutes up and down a steep hill to reach Playa Espadilla Sur. This is a long stretch of soft sand that curves round the west side of the National Park. It is very popular but big enough not to be too crowded, even in the peak Christmas season. We swam in the sea - big waves, salty as you would expect (though one Canadian family were surprised by this, having never been to the ocean before, and swum only in freshwater lakes) - and cloud-bathed on the sand. For the more adventurous, surf and boogie boards were available for rent, as were kayaks, banana boats and other water sporty things. The beach was rather attractive since it was surrounded by rainforest - though I've been to the Daintree rainforest beaches in Australia, Manuel Antonio was more what I imagined Thailand would look like. One of the most wonderful bits was about 4pm when families of monkeys would swing out of the National Park and come down to play on the branches of the beach trees. They were very tame and liked to pose for the cameras, just as well given the number of people on the beach who immediately flocked to snap some photos. A few things to note about this beach: there are no lifeguards on duty, the tides come in very quickly (we were constantly moving our stuff back towards the promenade) and the waves are big and the currents strong, so you need to be a strong swimmer or with someone who could help you out if needed if you go out beyond waist depth.

Behind the beach there is a long road, lined with shops on the far side and stands on the beach side. These also gave the beach a pretty appearance since two of the main things being sold by the stands were sarongs and towels which they hung up on strings coming out in to the sand, and which fluttered in the breeze. These were sarongs like no others, and had a very Costa Rican style to them, since they were almost all wildlife themed - with butterflies, frogs, snakes, lizards and more adorning them. They were massive and really colourful. I had to have one, and if you want one too it's worth shopping around since prices can vary, and haggling is encouraged. In the end Linda and I teamed up with our purchases and got twice discounted prices - once because we were buying in "bulk" and then again to round it down to an even number. Other stands sold jewellery of all sorts - wooden, ceramic, metals, much of it being made by the stall holders as they waited for customers. Because it's that sort of place, you could also get hair braiding or henna tattoos here.

The shops on the other side of the road sold the same kind of things but with a greater selection in one place, and often at slightly cheaper prices, to reward those willing to cross the street. In addition to the souvenirs, there were pharmacies (like lingerie shops, Costa Ricans, and Mexicans too in fact, are obsessed with pharmacies) and a lovely Italian Gelateria which had heavenly though comparatively expensive flavours like Flor de Leche (milk flower) and white chocolate.

There are various hotels in this area too, but they almost all cost more than staying in Quepos, just for the sheer proximity to the National Park. Why is this important? In an effort to conserve their wildlife, the Costa Ricans now limit the number of people visiting the National Park to 600 a day (officially - sometimes a few hundred more get through). The park opens at 8am, and we were there by 9am, only to be met by a giant queue of people. The line forms down a dirt track near the park entrance. There is little shade, and it was stiflingly hot, even so early in the morning, so we took turns to duck into the small, shaded snack bar nearby while others kept our place in line. The queue moved slowly, and grew tiresome despite the guide's attempts to keep us entertained by providing a running commentary of some bits of daredevil wildlife he has spotted - "Did you see the monkey over there just climb that pole and get electrocuted? It fell, splat, to the ground. Look, you can see it." (5 minutes later) "Look, he is getting up and running off. He is ok." After over half an hour of waiting, we were told they were shutting the gates, so we could not enter the park. It was not a huge loss, since we'd seen lots of wildlife already in the other places we'd visited, but it was annoying that we had to stand around doing nothing for so long, only to be told we still could not get in. If you are not on a tour, and can therefore control your own timetable, I would highly recommend getting there early, perhaps eating breakfast in Manuel Antonio, because the place is so popular that it really is a case of you snooze, you lose.

Quepos has a small airport, but most people arrive and depart by car or bus. We left for San Jose two days after we arrived, catching a bus from the local bus station. They have a number of options and unfortunately we ended up on the 5 hour local bus, not the 3 hour direct one, though luckily we did have reserved seats. Because of the distance, the bus stopped mid way for a comfort break. This was in the middle of nowhere, with just toilets and a small shop/cafe, catering exclusively for bus passengers stretching their legs, so some of our group thought nothing of leaving their bags unattended on board for 10 minutes. Unfortunately when we returned, two of the backpacks had been stolen and their owners lost their cameras and all the photos of the trip which was ending the next morning. Luckily there were no passports inside, but still, it was a horrible end to what had been a good week and a bit until that point. Apparently this is common on long distance buses (though not common enough for the guide or bus driver to tell people to take everything with them as they got off to go to the loo?) and is definitely something to bear in mind if you're travelling in the country.

Quepos and Manuel Antonio definitely provided an interesting contrast to the cities, volcanoes and cloud forests we had seen on our trip prior to our arrival. Though there are nicer beaches in Costa Rica, having these so near San Jose, and with a National Park attached makes them an appealing stop on a Costa Rican trail. Because the trip from one to another is near (20-30 minutes on regular, local bus) and cheap (about 25p) if you are willing to get up early to see the National Park there is really no reason to pay the inflated prices for Manuel Antonio accommodation, and you can stay in Quepos and enjoy its (slightly more numerous) facilities instead.



Things to remember:

Costa Rica is a dual currency country. For Quepos and Manuel Antonio both US dollars and Colones are useful, though I got by using only the latter. Quepos is cheap by western standards but expensive by Costa Rican ones, with hiked prices reflecting the number of tourists who come to town for a few days. You can find cheaper places, to eat, drink and stay, but you will be out of the centre, and in areas where menus are in Spanish only, if they even exist.

The official language is Spanish but because of the large number of tourists here, most shop and restaurant staff speak a little English. Spanish is however useful for negotiating with the street sellers - nothing screams "I'm a rich western tourist, please rip me off" more than trying to haggle in English...

Temperatures in Quepos are pretty standard all year round, from the mid 20s to low 30s. However July - September are the rainy months.

Getting around is easy, and a car is not recommended - the roads can be horrible, and parking is very limited. Instead, the local buses are the best option, or if you're going on a day trip, you'll get round trip transportation from your hotel in almost all cases.


For more information on these areas, see:

http://www.puertoquepos.com/costa-rica/quepos.htm l
http://www.puertoquepos.com/costa-rica/manuel-ant onio.html
http://www.centralamerica.com/cr/quepos/quepos.ht m

Summary: Worth a few days of your trip to see the beaches and National Park