Tag Archives: manuel antonio park

Matt walking along the Reto Mae Hike

Reto MAE Hike

Liming the days away as landlubbers is hard for us.  We miss the water, we miss the motion of the ocean, and we miss our home.  As we try to resolve our lightning strike claim, we wait…and wait.  So, we try to pass the time with hikes like Reto Mae Hike.

One Sunday, Matt and I decided to go on a exploration.  We had a general idea of where we wanted to end up but we weren’t sure how to get there. We walked into town, behind the marina to a beautiful little park.  Don’t you love the free gym / exercise equipment?

Paradero Park

Paradero Park

We knew there was a trail that led to the beaches, but we did not know what it was called.  Later, found ourselves on the Reto MAE Hike.  We did not plan to take this hike, but we stumbled upon it and it seemed to go in the direction of the beach.

History of Reto MAE Hike

A couple of years ago, Manuel Antonio introduced a new extreme race to Costa Rica: The Reto MAE. The acronym ‘MAE’ stands for ‘Manuel Antonio Extreme’, and it quickly rose to become one of the country’s most challenging races.

The Retro MAE Hike is a 10-kilometer trail that winds along the dramatic coastline between Quepos and Manuel Antonio national park, snaking through the rain forest, over bluffs, along cliffs, and visiting seven beaches along the way

The hikers start the Reto Mae hike in Manuel Antonio and end up at the marina.   However, our route was the exact opposite as we started at the marina and ended up somewhere in Manuel Antonio.

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking trail

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking trail

The Trail:

The trail started on a small, single, dirt path and we quickly came upon a fallen tree that we scurried over.  Along the path we found some guides.  These two dogs stayed with us for several miles.

It was a lovely trail, albeit a bit muddy since it had rained a lot the night before.  Everything was green and glistening.    The trail had several overlooks to beaches below, but we could not find the paths down.

We continued on and caught the trail after losing it – we came to a river crossing and debated whether or not the trail crossed the river or went around it.  We went around the river to look for the trail as opposed to getting wet. Later found out that we should have gone through the river.

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking Trail

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking Trail

Ronnie’s Place for a Reward:

We ended up at Ronnie’s Place and ordered a beer and Fresca.  The beverages were expensive, but they had a “captured” market.

Several of the trees were shedding bark. I had never seen anything like it, so beautiful.  See above photo.

We were exhausted.  Even though we wanted to make it to Playa Biesanz we were going to have to do it another day.

Return to Reto MAE a Few Weeks Later:

Fast forward, we decided to try to make it all the way to Playa Biesanz.  We tried to do the Reto Mae hike and take it across the river this time.

These crazy beach goers were blocking our trail.

Cows blocking the Reto Mae tral

Cows blocking the Reto Mae tral

Shoe Surgery On the Run

We were able to go around them and continued up the hill, down a muddy path and POW – my flip flop exploded.  Bummer.  Luckily, we had some line with us so Matt was able to give me a temporary fix and we continued on.

Blown flip flop with repair

Blown flip flop with repair

We were not heading in the right direction, so we hopped off the cow path and headed up hill across the grassy field.  It led to a tall barb wire fence that stopped us cold.  We walked along the fence until we came upon an “opening” that we squeezed through.

Now, we are on a decent dirt trail, continuing up only to encounter a huge security fence with a young lady on the other side.  I decided the friendly route was the way to go.  We weren’t sure who was on the public side.

Trespassers

We discovered we were on private property owned by a rancher which explained the cows.  There was a small opening under the fence, that we belly crawled through.  We are now covered in dirt, mud, and leaves. But we carried on through a pretty resort called Tulemar Resort.

We cooled off for a bit, before hitting Howard trail where we encountered a small waterfall.  Sweet, a quick opportunity to clean up and cool off.

Water falls at Tulemar Resort

Water falls at Tulemar Resort

The Animals

The wildlife came out to greet us – we found an Agouti which is a cross between a rabbit and a squirrel and a few monkeys.

Agouti and Monkeys at Tulemar Resort

Agouti and Monkeys at Tulemar Resort

We hiked up and down hills, through fields, rivers, beaches, over trees and rocks, and under fences.  We finally made it to Manuel Antonio, but the elusive Playa Biesanz is still calling us – so maybe another time.  Our health app logged 5.2 miles and 144 flights!

Reto MAE Hike

Reto MAE Hike

Cold Beer, Pizza, and this Amazing View

We stopped for lunch at La Lambretta, mostly for the view, cold beverage and pizza.  They had a local IPA called Grizzly and Matt said it was the best IPA he has had all year.  I think it is the only one he has had, but either way he was happy.

La Lambretta Pizzeria

La Lambretta Pizzeria

Reto Mae Hike

We will have to come back to explore the beaches further, perhaps with a better map?  Or perhaps we will wonder again just to see if we can get lost.

Coco Loco: Wayne and Matt

Monkey Madness with Wayne

Wayne flew into Costa Rica on the same day that my dad was scheduled to leave.  We had two days and two goals: Get us some monkey madness and go on a white water rafting trip.

We stopped by crocodile bridge over Tarcoles to show Wayne the bunches of crocs and they did not disappoint.  There were more crocs on this visit than previously with my dad.   Can you tell the difference between the crocs and logs?

Crocodile Bridge over Tarcoles River

Crocodile Bridge over Tarcoles River

Goodies:

Our ever trusty travel mule, Wayne, brought us some goodies from the states.  Matt ordered a few mastervolt parts and our friends at Manu Kea Incorporated sent us some swag.

New from Manu Kea: custom jacklines made specifically for Sugar Shack.  Super cool stainless steel clothes pins, lightweight, high strength polymer carabiners, set of all silicone spatulas.   Can’t wait to put these into action!  Lots of really good stuff for Sugar Shack.

Manu Kea Incorporated Swag

Manu Kea Incorporated Swag

It was time to introduce Wayne to some Monkey Madness.  We returned the rent car so we headed to the park on public transit.  Photo: Boys waiting at the bus stop (off the main road).  Matt had to show off our giant bamboo lining the driveway at the apartment.

Bamboo Love and Bus Ride

Bamboo Love and Bus Ride

Manuel Antonio National Park – Monkeys, Monkeys, Monkeys

On the way to Manuel Antonio National Park, we spied a family of Capuchin monkey’s.  They were far more focused on eating marmons and flowers than paying attention to the paparazzi. Check out the momma and baby below.  Not the monkey madness we were hoping for, but there’s still time.

Capuchin Monkeys Near MA Park

Capuchin Monkeys Near MA Park

Once inside the park, we thought we knew where the monkeys would be since this was our 3rd visit and all.  Alas, we were wrong.  They were no where near the places we had seen them before.  At first, we were afraid that the only monkeys we were going to see would be the ones outside of the park – which would suck.

We took the “short path” toward the beach as its so pretty and much more cooler.  Matt had us crawling over some boulders to get to a smaller beach and the boys goofed off a bit around the water.

Manuel Antonio Park Beach

Manuel Antonio Park Beach

Deer, Crabs, and Sloths

We did manage to see a few deer (which are not hunted in Costa Rica), a cool red and blue crab family, and a super friendly 3-toed sloth eating breakfast.

3-Toed Sloth at the Park

3-Toed Sloth at the Park

As we were leaving the beach, we finally saw a family of Capuchin monkeys.  They were fabulously playful and wrestled with each other.  True monkey madness.

Check out this funny 11 second video – Monkey Madness and Mayhem

There was only one path that Matt and I had not explored within the park, so we conquered it with Wayne.  It led to a “seasonal” waterfall at the end of many stairs.

Waterfall and a few more monkeys

Waterfall and a few more monkeys

As we exited the park, the boys felt compelled to try a Coco Loco.  The vendor takes cold coconuts, wacks off the end, adds rum to the fresh coconut water and bam – you have Coco Loco!  They polished those off before we got to the restaurant for lunch.

Coco Loco and More Cold Beverages

Coco Loco and More Cold Beverages

After we fed our bellies, we headed to the yard to check on Sugar Shack.  Bristol Marine was supposed to be finished with all 4 jobs, but alas the rain and tico time had another date in mind.

Wayne has seen our boat in stellar condition ready for guests, in “standard” condition, and in storage condition.  Yet, he had never seen her in such disarray.

And it’s fixin to get worse as we will have Bristol Marine finishing the exterior beautification projects and AG Marine delivering some parts all at the same time.

Another capuchin family was playing by the apartment as well – so we saw three different crazy monkey families.

Having successfully fulfilled our monkey goal, we set out to conquer the Costa Rican Rafting Adventure…stay tuned for our next blog.