Manuel Antonio, Here We Come!
Mama Tica pulls out all the stops when she's got company over. My parents are no exception, and they got to experience a typical Tico dinner and breakfast. I think my dad was most impressed by the quality of the fruit here. Luckily enough, Jorge was able to come over so that my parents could meet him as well. We chatted some more, and my mom took pictures of the house, inspired for the new one that my parents are building back home. We also took pictures with Mama Tica, Jorge, and Mati quickly before we headed back to the airport for our transport pickup.
Unfortunately we were 15 minutes late, but our driver, Pablo, must have been on Tico Time that morning, because he didn't really seem phased. If I haven't explained Tico Time yet, it's an aspect of the lifestyle in Costa Rica where events usually don't start until 10-15 minutes after the "arranged" time. It's been a difficult adjustment for me, but some SOLmates love it. Driving to our hotel in Manuel Antonio took us about 4 hours because of the holiday traffic, but luckily we weren't one of the seven or so vehicles (that's the amount that we passed) that had car trouble en route.
We arrived at La Mariposa, thanked Pablo, and checked in. We got our belongings in our room and decided to head for an early dinner. The view from the hotel restaurant was absolutely incredible. Many pictures were taken by us that night. After dinner we explored the nearby shops a little and decided to go for a night swim in the hotel pool. The average temperature in Manuel Antonio is probably about 92 and humid, so swimming is always a good option. We swam for a couple of hours and called it a night. I'm looking forward to more night swims to cool down in the evening humidity as well.