Manuel Antonio Tico Moments

It was only four days after I arrived in Costa Rica, that I found myself enjoying a moment I will never forget. I was in Manuel Antonio for the weekend and after an exhausting day of hiking and rafting, a friend and I ate dinner down by the beach. We dined at an outdoor restaurant and ate freshly caught sea bass. After dinner we wandered down the beach and stumbled upon something wonderful. El Mar y Sombra (the sea and shadow) was tantalizing. A huge expanse of white sand acted as the entrance but the bar itself was more like a festival. If you could picture a picnic area with mariachi-techno music roaring and people everywhere with giant grins on their faces…multiply that vision by ten! It seemed almost mythical—like the kind of party that you always read about, but never actually see. Huge bonfires roared on the beach lighting soccer games and non-stop circles of dance. I sat down in a cheap plastic patio chair and tilted myself against a thick palm tree. I sat there…shirt unbuttoned, newly acquired cowboy hat tilted over my eyes, jeans wet from a dip in the ocean and stained from fresh raspberries sold on the street. Two dogs at my feet gnawed on a chicken bone as I heard laughter and music in surround sound. The stars were clearer than a perfect night in Joshua Tree and feeling the light breeze on my skin made me realize that life wasn’t so bad. This was paradise. Although I couldn’t hear any music that I recognized or see any of my longtime friends, I felt like I was at home.

Matt Landau
Baltimore, Maryland

TicoTips
A shubee is surfer lingo for a tourist who buys and wears surfi ng gear, but has never surfed in their life.