Manuel Antonio through the eyes of a first-time visitor

by Kristine Frazao
17.06.09
3:15 PM UTC

Filed in Costa Rica, Costa Rica Lifestyle, Things to do

Kristine Frazao and Jenny Hamel enjoying their first trip to Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica -
There is something different about this place. For one thing, it’s the brightest place I’ve ever been. There are more colors surrounding me in this tiny coastal city of Manuel Antonio than there would be if I was standing in the middle of Times Square in New York City. But the colors here are different. There is the ocean, of course, and the surrounding trees in the forest. But there are also flowers everywhere; _NEW7982 flowers that look like giant red and yellow caterpillars hanging upside down from trees. Victorian Pink flowers that resemble artichokes sit still, as is posing for a still life artist to come and capture their unusual shape in the bright, afternoon light. On one of the corners of the main street, there’s a restaurant and quite a few street vendors selling jewelry and T-shirts. The corner is often bustling with people, most of whom don’t seem to notice that there’s a tree bursting with baby bananas, in the middle of the city.

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There are also the animals that help bring so much life to an already blooming place. While we were eating breakfast one day, Jenny and I saw these two birds right next to one another, snacking on banana bits cleverly left out by staff members of our hotel. One was two toned blue, half of him the color of The Kansas City Royals uniforms, the other half (his belly) the color of a Tiffany’s gift box. The other bird had slick black wings and a florescent orange chest and the two went about their daily business of flying and singing as if they, like everything else here, were nothing special.

On our walk to the beach for the first time, we happened to notice an iguana (perhaps three feet long?!) creeping quietly along a low-hanging tree branch. Later that day we would witness another iguana get into a scuffle with a reddish orange crab near the ocean. The crab surely must have known it was the end, but bravely fought back, snapping his claws at the iguana’s eyes as the two faced off. The iguana, about ten times the size of this little crab, seemed to almost become disinterested until another iguana, a smaller female came to provide back up. In the end the crab lost his life in this fierce battle as we, four tourists from the United States, watched mesmerized. When it was over, the two Iguanas shared the meal they had earned, together.

Perhaps it is only through the eyes of a tourist, a virgin to this rich coast, that the color and the life here was so brilliant. But to pause and think about my colleagues back at work with BlackBerrys and meetings and the latest round of lay-offs, I knew this was, at least for now, exactly where I belonged.

Rating 4.00 out of 5