Our first day at the beach, aka quepos, started with a lazy early rise to overcast skies. It had poured all day yesterday and we had our fingers crossed the rain would not show its wet face today.

we packed our bags with beach gear and headed to the bus stop to take the bus to Manual Antonio (MA). A heavyset tico was waiting with us. we made light conversation, and he lifted our spirits by mentioning it is going to be a nice day. we were skeptical but since he lived there, he would know best. turned out he was right. we had a great time a the beach.

the bus ride was a quick and easy ride over the twisty mountainous road. we arrived in MA next to some reggaeton music, surfboards, and a great view of beaches and islands

on our right and restaurants and shops on our left.

we decide to grab a quick breakfast before hitting the beaches. as we began to sit down in the patio area, the waiter runs over to ask if we were afraid of bees. they tend to be attracted to the food and coffee. even though dee is extremely afraid of bees, she said we will try and if not, we will move.

as soon as we got the coffee, a bumblebee shows up and i kill it with my book. after killing it, i remembered that if you kill one, more come. they give us some kind of death odor. three more show up and we all jump out of our chairs and relocate to the tables underneath a roof with fans. the bees don’t come to this area cause of the fans according to the waiter.

after breakfast, we head to the beach. vendors have blankets hanging from wire for sell. when the wind blows, which is pretty much constant in this area, it makes for a picturesque scene.

the beach had tons of debris and trash, but the views of the surrounding islands was beautiful.

we reached the end of the first beach with an estuary and ticos with boats. it looks like an entrance to something, but we decide to turn back as we look for the entrance to MA park. once we arrive back at the road, a tico tells us that you have to cross the estuary to reach the park entrance. aha, that’s what the boats are for. no doubt they wanted money to cross such a short estuary, which we weren’t going to pay. so, i go first to check the depth of this thing. i had to take off my backpack and hold it over my head as the water reached midchest level. the deepest point lasted two steps and then i was quickly back to knee deep water. john and i crossed fine, but dee was a little scared. so, i carried her over the water. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 5891 *what a funny girl.

entrance to the park cost seven dollars. within the park, there are five beaches each separated by a rocky coastline. the first beach in the park was pristine. definitely worth the money to get into the park. it was debris and trash free that looked like a paradise.

we reached the end of the beach to find a little pathway to go to the next beach. as i was stepping onto the path, i heard something land right above my head with a thud. even though i ducked, i knew what it was. a white faced monkey was right above me. i scramble to get the camera and start taking pics and video. the monkey had a friend and they were walking in the trees away from us. i was more excited than scared about the monkeys.

during our stay in the park, we saw tons of lizards or iguanas

, monkeys, a sloth, crabs

and tons of insects.

we hiked through the forest to the next beach, which wasn’t much of a beach. it was a little cove with lots of rocks. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 5945 * there were two ways to make it to the next beach. you could hike over the hill or cross via the rocky coast. john was daring and decided to cross there.

with the waves smashing against the rocks, i decided that it would be best if dee and i took the high road. while john was braving the waves, he saw lots of crabs and fish while crossing.

the next beach was just as beautiful as the first. we were sweating from walking around so we jumped into the water for a swim. the water was a great temperature. a little cold that you get use to. now i realize why costa rica is a great surfing place. the waves are strong, even if they aren’t that large. i was able to body surf all the way to the beach. it wasn’t very far so as soon as i caught the wave, i had to put my hands down so i wouldn’t be scratched by the sand. a few times a wave got me and body slammed be into the sand. i left with a scratched red chest.

dee is a funny girl when it comes to water. she doesn’t enjoy it as much as i do, which is evident in this pic * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 5999 * and this one. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6014 * john took several photos of us swimming around with one looking like i am about to kick myself in the face. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 5981 * john posed for the fashionable comb over. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6044 *

after a while, dee decides to scout out the next beach. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6050 * we spotted an iguana that looked like it was head thrashing to some heavy metal when all it was doing was trying to get a bug off its nose.

i will post a video later. the next beach was much farther than the other hikes we had done. we had to cross over * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6068 * streams and * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6065 *logs to get to it.

once we reached it, we loved it. it was a little cove with an empty beach. the stream that we crossed emptied into the ocean on this beach. so, we could take a freshwater bath to remove the salt from the ocean. it was a great location to shoot america’s next top model. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 5779 *

dee was first at the photo shoot. she crawled on the sand and we took some very sexy pics of her. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6101 * * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6104 *

john and dee poised for calvin klein. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6113 * * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6119 ** WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6125 *john was next in the america´s next top model photo shoot. we got some great pics of him poising in the surf. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6134 * * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6140 *dee and i poised together, * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6170 * * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6173 *

after the photo shoot, we spotted two large iguanas sunbathing on the rocks. one of them started walking over our way. john and i took a pic with it.

our tummies started rumbling so we decided to head back for lunch. we agreed we would bring picnic supplies tomorrow. on the way back, we spotted a sloth in the tree. it was too high up for a pic, but we were able to see it walk upside down hanging onto a branch. i could see its huge hooks on its hands. they look like koala bears.

when we reached the estuary to exit the park, the tide had gone out and it was easier to cross. dee did it without my help.

we found a nice place to eat called coconuts that was on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the street. perfect people watching perch.

i’m not sure what it is with supermarkets/convenience stores being named some like christ mart or super christian (in la fortuna), but next to the balcony was this sign.

after lunch, we headed back to the hotel to clean up. we were covered in sand and could start feeling the burn coming on. we had spf 30 suntanning spray that we put on every so often, but the sun in costa rica is intense. after taking a shower, john and i were burnt. dee was not so much, which she attributed it to her mediterranean blood. anyways, the suntanning spray made my red body look stupid. i had sunbursts of white where the spray had been applied.

turned out that we weren’t the ones that got the worst part of it. the guys in the six pack got burnt so bad that it was painful to look at. ouch! they were out surfing all day and the sun turned them into cooked lobsters.

tonight was the last supper for the group since we were splitting off. the belgiums and us decided to stay in quepos for another day while the rest headed back to san jose. the last supper was at a place called El Avion. the restaurant is built around a 1954 Fairchild C-123, a huge military cargo jet.

we sat a long table and had some drinks and food. towards the end of the dinner, we took blaine away from the table and collected a group tip. blaine returned and one of the guys in the six pack said some nice words about blaine and what a terrific job she did and then we presented her with the tip, which she then used to buy a t-shirt of the restaurant.

we were thinking about heading back as the rest of the group was going to sing karaoke. as we left the restaurant, we saw a restaurant across the street that was mentioned in the good book as THE place to hang out for gay people. so, we decide to check it out. the bar was on top of the restaurant.

the bartenders were flaming gay and fun. the place played my kind of music and we sat underneath the stars with a great view of the surrounding area, the road and el avion.

I got a really cool pic of dee. i’m on her right (the pics left) and the belgians are on her left (the pics right). she was smiling at me and talking to the belgians. * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 6266 *

after a few, we decide to call it a night.