Manuel Antonio National Park
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
We left Arenal by car and after a five hour drive arrived near Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific Ocean.
We drove back through the cloud forest (which reminded us of western Sonoma County with plant nurseries and grazing cows on a foggy day) and down to the Pacific Ocean.
Along the ocean were a number of condominiums for foreign residents. One spot looked like a small version of Waikiki.
We had a good conversation with our driver during the trip. Each person who works pays into a social security fund which pays for medical care, and if the illness lasts longer than three days, we were told the fund would pay their salary from then on.
Also, college is free, but after graduation the student has to work for a year in government service. Our driver worked in a nursing home for his year of service.
Oh, the country has no army.
Eventually we arrived at our hotel, which is pretty much organic. Electricity is generated with solar panels, every room has three different recycling containers, and transport is by electric cart up and down the hills. In building the hotel the developer worked hard to not open up the forest. In a few cases trees grow up through roofs.
The beaches are very nice, and the surf is child’s play. There is a rumor that toucans can be seen in Manuel Antonio National Park. We did see some wildlife today.
Next—a hike in the National Park and a swim in the ocean.