Quepos, Off The Beaten Path

We stayed between Quepos and the Manuel Antonio National Park. The rainforest is magnificant and the weather is beautiful. The wildlife is very plentiful. Monkeys made daily visits to my balcony and frogs and lizards provided delightful music in the evenings. This is an out of the way paradise that is unspoiled. While there are tours you can enjoy, I was extremely impressed with how respectful of the eco system all the tour guides were.

Quick Tips:

We flew into San Jose and took a flight to a small airstrip outside Quepos. You can see from the picture that when we landed the airport was literally a thatch hut. There is also an express bus that takes about 3 hours to get to Quepos but the flight was wonderful.

Best Way To Get Around:

You can walk to a lot of places but taxis are cheap and plentiful. I would recommend using a taxi rather than trying to drive on the roads which are narrow and have sharp curves.

Villas Nicolas is a paradise within a paradise. There are small apartments with porches that look out over the lush green canopy and a view of the emerald green ocean. Our view was absolutely breathtaking. In the afternoons you are likely to have a visitor such as a monkey or a sloth lounging in one of the trees by your balcony. The larger one-bedroom apartments have a full kitchen and living room space, the smaller apartments have a refrigerator in one big room. This is a condominium community with a luxurious blue glass tiled pool and lush gardens. The staff at the front office is glad to give you directions and arrange sunset sail tours, canopy tours or give directions and tips on dining. There is a thatch hut by the pool that houses a bar and grill. This is a great place for breakfast or lunch as well as drinks anytime of the day or evening. Even though the Manuel Antonio National Park is just a short ride or a long walk away, it is hard to leave this paradise at Villas Nicolas to enjoy it.

This is a gay, clothing optional beach within walking distance of the Cocatoo Bar and Villa Nicholas. Anybody there can give you good directions. This secluded cove beach is a great place to swim or play in the surf. There is a beautiful waterfall to play in and rocks to explore which shield this intimate beach. A great spot for gay travelers at Manuel Antonio Park.

The Cockatoo Bar is on a terrace above the Gato Negro Resturaunt. It is the first Gay/Lesbian bar of Quepos which is a very gay friendly community. The bar set high above the forest and the sunset view was spectacular. It is a fun gathering spot for gay/lesbian tourists in Quepos and we found the staff to be friendly and gave us helpful tips about our stay in Quepos. The drinks were good, the view was outstanding and the sunset was spectacular. You have to love the place!!!

This was billed as the "Ultimate Eco-Adventure" and I believe it is! The people that run the tour pick you up at your hotel and then take you into town for a wonderful breakfast. During breakfast they give you the low-down for the day and then you climb into the jeep and head up the mountain deep into the rainforest. The ride up the mountain was an adventure in and of itself. It had been rainy for a few days before we went so the dirt roads had turned to mud in several places and we had to get out while they got the jeep out of the mud. The forest was unbelievable; we saw several varieties of wild orchids in bloom and a couple of toucans sitting in the trees.

Once we arrived at our destination we were put into repelling harnesses and then took a short hike to the beginning of the tour. There were 5 platforms built in the tops of trees in the rainforest with cables that ran from platform to platform. We attached hooks to the harnesses and the cables and then would glide from platform to platform. On the last platform we repelled to the bottom, which was about 50 feet from the top of the tree. A pleasant hike took us to a magnificent waterfall. We stopped for a cool swim in a pristine pool of water at the foot of the waterfall and had a snack of fresh sweet pineapple. After about an hour of swimming and relaxing we started our hike back to the place we started. This was not a long hike but was steep and uphill in parts. They say it is meant for people 7 and older and in moderate physical condition. It was a bit much for me but I am not in moderate physical condition!

When we reached the top of the hill where we had started they fed us again. It was a full dinner of black beans, rice, fruit, chicken and a delightful cake. Although we were all very tired we enjoyed the trip back to our hotel. We enjoyed the day, the guides were very nice and took time to point out the ecological issues in this primary rainforest. The trip was a wonderful adventure and I learned a great deal. The cost was about $40 US each and worth every penny.

The phone is 506 777-0100.

We set sail at about 3 in the afternoon on a classic yacht with a teakwood deck. The cruise sailed around the coast of the Manuel Antonio National Park. As the boat glided over the water we were treated with the company of dolphins swimming by our boat. There were many sea birds that would fly by and were welcomed guests to our cruise. The boat sailed with about 20 passengers and the crew was very attentive. We were served mixed drinks, beer, wine and soft drinks and then later in the cruise a homemade dinner was prepared. It was delicious Costa Rican food, which was expertly prepared. We anchored near the coast for an opportunity to swim and snorkel off the shore of the National Forest. Snorkeling gear was provided for all that wanted to participate and inner tubes were offered for those that just wanted to have a restful float while taking in the incredible scenery. After the swim we started back to the port with the sun setting on the ocean. It was one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever witnessed and there was something special about watching the sun set with no land in sight. On the way home the crew served wine and other drinks to all. The cost of the cruise was $50 US. To contact, call 506 777-1304.

This is truly a national treasure. The park is open to the public with a small fee, about $4 US. There are several trails that are very easy hiking. You can hike into the forest and while the trails are very well marked you see very few people on many of the paths. There are beaches for swimming in the park and many of them are very secluded. Monkeys are frequent visitors on some of the beaches and if you are not watchful they will help themselves to your pack.

The park is filled with a wide variety of birds, lizards, monkeys and frogs. The flora and fauna is spectacular with many very rare trees, flowers and plants. The orchids were blooming everywhere when we were there in February, which is the dry season. The park has markers by many of the plants giving information about them, which was very interesting. There were occasional bathhouses with toilets and changing rooms for the swimmers. Picnic tables and small huts that sold snacks and drinks were near the more popular swimming beaches. Be sure to take your camera because you will have many opportunities for spectacular photos. The day at the park was one I will remember always.

There is a public beach outside the National Park that was well populated. It seemed to cater to families and young adults and was much more recreational than the beaches in the park. If you get there early enough there will be plenty of chairs and umbrellas for rent from private businessmen and women eager to make you comfortable for the day.

One day while we were at the beach there was a bandstand set up with a band playing and there was a large crowd of tourists as well as locals enjoying the music.

Part of the beach experience is having local artists coming by to offer you their carvings, jewelry and arts and crafts. They were very interesting and polite and it added to the experience. In addition to people selling crafts their were youngsters walking up and down the beach with coolers selling drinks and occasionally someone would come by selling food or shaved ice.

There was a "food court" type facility at the beach that sold several types of food and drinks in different booths. There were also bathhouses that were very clean and nice that were easily accessible.

This was a great adventure. We booked this through our hotel at Villa Nicholas and they were glad to recommend the guides we used. They picked us up at the hotel and took us up into the mountains very close to where we started the canopy tour. We rode through the rain forest and in the mountains. We were awed by the beauty. There were many sites we saw that we wouldn't have been able to see on any other type of tour.

We rode for about 2 to 3 hours and went very slowly getting on and off the horses frequently. There was a beautiful stream and waterfall where we got off and swam for a short time.

This was a great deal of fun and doesn't require a great deal of riding experience. I will warn you that if you are not used to horseback riding you will be very sore for a few days. If you don't mind being sore it is a great trip. The cost was $35 US.

Quepos is curiously gay friendly. There is a "spot in the road" between Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park that has several restaurants, hotels, shops, and even a gay bar. While visitors to this paradise include all kinds of folks, this community has made a point to make the gay/lesbian travelor welcome also. The susnset cruise has a gay only night and many of the business are gay owned or gay friendly. This is unusual in my experience of Central America and was so very nice.

There are several Americans and Canadians that have settled there because it is so beautiful and very inexpensive to live there. It is a very progressive community and the gay/lesbian tourist is welcomed by the locals as well as the people that have relocated there.