Well, summer is finally creeping upon us. I can tell already – my semi-daily 5.5-mile walks around D.C. are becoming a lot less fun. I can only put up with so much humidity without having an ocean or pool nearby.

That said, the summer is a perfect excuse for the more epic variety of travel (read: leaving the country). Last year I fit in a couple major journeys in the summer – in a span of two weeks I visited England, Paris and Easter Island (yeah, talk about round-the-world). My girlfriend and favorite travel companion, Breeah, joined me on the European leg and will do so again this summer when we make our first trip to Central America and visit Costa Rica!

The trip will take place later in July and will likely be more of a “vacation” than anything I’m used to taking (that being seeking out a variety of historical sites, landmarks and parks). We’ll likely be plopping ourselves at or near the beach for five whole days in the famous Manuel Antonio National Park. That said, I’m not ruling out a guided day trip somewhere, but we’ll see how things go. I’d be more than happy to see a monkey or a sloth, as I expect to be somewhat of a sloth myself on this trip.

One thing I realized with Costa Rica is the difficulty in getting anywhere (at least anywhere fast) from the airport. San Jose, the nation’s capital city, is centrally located and houses the largest airport in the country. While Manuel Antonio National Park is actually quite close in proximity (about 38 miles) to the airport, driving to the park takes a much longer, winding path. Did I mention that there are no marked roads in Costa Rica and everything is addressed by directions? I saw one hotel use “400 meters from the soccer field” as its listed address. To reduce stress and anxiety, I’ve decided right away that driving in Costa Rica is probably not for me – especially if I just want to enjoy the vacation. Here’s a map to see how one would get to the National Park…

I’m certainly open to suggestions from anyone who has visited this “rich coast” country. What else is there to see and do in the Quepos area?