We found a really cheap hostel nearby for only $2 per person. My bed was fine but the others had beds in various states of disrepair causing temporary paralysis in various body parts. This meant that the next day we were determined to get into the good hostel. We ate a long breakfast at the hostel's cafe and checked into the hostel as soon as we could. We were planning on going volcano boarding (sliding down a volcano on a board) through the hostel but unfortunately they had canceled it for Sunday and we had to leave the next day. Instead we took a tour of the city, enjoying some of the many cathedrals in the town. After we took a taxi down to the beach and I enjoyed body surfing in some of the big waves until it started to lightning and I was chased back to the bar on the beach. We caught the bus back to León and it was almost as crowded as the last time I took it but this time I didn't have to hang on to the outside. In the evening we went to a Chinese restaurant and then we headed to a bar where they were playing live salsa music.The next day we returned to Costa Rica via a number of buses. One to Managua, a city bus through Managua, and another bus to the border. At the border we figured we had a lot of time to get through the passport checking and catch the bus back to Bagaces. However the border was particularly packed because of the long weekend and we ended up watching the last bus leave as we were waiting in line. This meant that we had to take a taxi all the way back. There were five of us so the cost wasn't too steep but it still ended up being a lot more than the bus.
Last weekend I returned to Manuel Antonio which is one of my favorite beaches. My friends from Bagaces took their car but they only had so much space so I took the bus with Greg, the other Canadian. We got a ride in the morning with some friends to Puntarenas and then we waited for the bus at a restaurant by the highway. Unfortunately the bus went by without stopping and we were stuck. We started walking along a bike path on the highway and hitch-hiking but after an hour of walking without a ride another bus showed up. It was going to a different town, Orotina, but it was on the way so we took it. We spent another couple of hours in the town waiting for the next bus and we finally arrived in Manuel Antonio at 7pm, 11 hours after we set out. The first hostel we looked into was full but we managed to find a cabina and meet up with the rest of the group for supper. After we went to a popular bar which was packed. It had two levels and a great view of the ocean and was full of tourists from Costa Rica and around the world.Our cabina was right next to the national park at Manuel Antonio so we woke up fairly early to go in. The park was full of animals and I saw monkeys, sloths, a coatimundi, and a raccoon on various trails and the beach in the park. The monkeys were extremely tame. I saw one digging through someone's bag on the beach. However the park seemed to be missing the black and red crabs that so entertained me last time. The first time I was in the park the jungle was full of these crabs scampering around everywhere, but I didn't see a single one this time. I don't know whether it was the wrong time of year or wrong time of day but it was strange. The rest of the group came with a Frisbee and we played on the beach. It was the first time I had played Frisbee since I was in Canada and I forgot how much fun it is. After we went to an excellent sushi restaurant for lunch.
Returning on the bus was as complicated as getting there. We didn't leave the beach until 5:30 pm when we caught a bus to Puntarenas. There we caught a taxi to the Pan-American highway where we waited for the bus in a restaurant. The very last bus passed by at 9:45 pm and we managed to wave it down. The bus was surprisingly empty, there was only two other people on it, so we were able to stretch out on the seats and get a bit of sleep. We finally arrived in Bagaces at 11:00.
