Jaco & Manuel Antonio

We finished our first week of remotely schooling/working, so it was time for some adventures on the weekend. We headed 40 minutes northwest to Jaco for an afternoon and enjoyed the bustle of a more touristy town. On the way there, we pulled over for this great overlook. When we ventured down to the rocks below, we saw HUNDREDS of crabs swarming the rocks, so we didn't stay too long haha.

Jaco is way more bustling that our spot in Bejuco. We had originally gone back and forth between Jaco and Bejuco as our home base. I think if we had only been here for a few days, Jaco would have been a good place to land, but since we are here for longer, the quiet of Bejuco is more appealing. The plethora of restaurants and a much bigger grocery store definitely have their draws though! After walking the strip, we landed at my favorite restaurant so far from this trip: Killer Fish Tacos. It's a super tasty spot located in a nicer area called Jaco Walk.

The next day, we started off the day super early and headed to Manuel Antonio National Park. There's a lot of mixed reviews online about Manuel Antonio, but we just loved our time there. We hiked for a bit and then ended at a beautiful beach nestled in a cove. Along the way, we saw capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, a toucan, a sloth, some deer, and some four-legged animals we couldn't identify. Super fun to see so much! We did this without a guide. You can definitely see more if you hire a guide.

Looking back, this was probably one of the first days that it felt like we pushed Lainey a little too much. We had her stroller, but she still seemed a little out of sorts, likely due to the combination of heat and several days of adventuring. The trails were totally accessible with her stroller, except for a sandy section between the two beaches at the end. 

After getting refreshed with an ice cold coconut at the end of the hike, we stopped for lunch afterwards at El Avion. Literally it's an old plane resting on the edge of the mountain, with a restaurant built around it. It overlooks the ocean with some amazing views!

On Sunday, we headed up to Crocodile Man Tours to take a boat ride through a river that has a bunch of crocs in it. We saw several crocs; a few of them were monsters. The birdwatching was plentiful too.

Dominoing from the day before, some of Lainey's anxieties started making themselves known through some obsessive behaviors. The croc tour itself was totally accessible for her, but I think all of the newness and out-of-routine things were too much today. 

We ended the day back in Jaco at Killer Fish Tacos. You know a restaurant is good if you hit it up two times in three days!

After the next morning spent on the beach with my Mom, Dad, and brother Tim, we had a farewell lunch with them today. It sure was a gift to have all of the McDonoughs here for a visit!

Mapping It Out

Costa Rica (the red country on the map below) is about the size of West Virginia and is positioned between Nicaragua and Panama, with much of the country having coastlines along the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Numerous volcanoes, rain forests, cloud forests, and coffee/spice farms populate the terrain. 

There are two main airports to fly into in Costa Rica: Liberia and San Jose. Both offer a wealth of activities and sights to see within a couple of hours. We ultimately chose to fly into San Jose (#1 on the map below), because that's where a personal contact lives that is going to assist us with renting a vehicle. Once we figured out which airport, it was then easier to put together our itinerary.

We are spending the first few days of the adventure by being tourists with the whole McD clan. My siblings and parents will be joining us in Houston for our connecting flight into San Jose!

We've got a couple days in Alajuela to explore Poas Volcano (2) and a waterfall. Then we will head to La Fortuna for a few days to check out Arenal Volcano (3) and so many other fun things in that area.

Then we hope to settle in a little bit into our work/school routine at our main base in Bejuco (4). Bejuco is right on the beach, nestled between the popular destinations of Jaco and Manuel Antonio. 

Because this is a longer trip, we had to structure in time to work and school. We are hoping to stick to a schedule of doing that 8am-1pm each weekday. That will hopefully leave further adventures for the late afternoons and weekends.

Our bags are mostly packed and we are getting some final trip prep items checked off the list!