These pictures were from the first half of our trip, where we stayed in a (GORGEOUS) hotel near Manual Antonio National park. The food on the first half was some of the best I ever had. The second half we spent in a resort and ate a lot of "resort food"...but I'll still post them another time:)
Anyway, I should have known I was in for the most spectacular week when THIS was the first thing I had....our van driver stopped off at a tiny little supermarket and negotiated to find me something coconut...and don't you know he found me the BEST COCONUT FLAN EVER!!! Welcome to Costa Rica! Notice I was so excited, that I had a few spoonfuls before I even remembered to take a picture:)
Our first night, we took a cab to Quepos to a place called "El Patio." (lots of Internet research before we left!) We were greeted with a shot of watermelon & mint soup 'on the house'...
And here were the fabulous Arepas I spoke of in my previous post! Soooooooooooooo good!!! These little babies were topped with pulled pork, caramelized onions and flavored sour cream...
For dinner, I had Rum shrimp with Spanish rice & mango salsa...it was good, but not as good as those arepas!! :)
And here was Scott's dessert...coffee flan....(not as good as my coconut one;)
Here was our typical breakfast every morning at our hotel, La Mariposa....it was really good, but after 5 days of the same thing, you kinda got a little weary of rice and beans.... :)
...but the view made it hard to go anywhere else. Talk about the most PERFECT way to start a morning...
...And the best way to END a day....here was our "lunch" of onion rings and pina coladas while watching the sunset....pure heaven!!!
Dinner that night was probably one of the best I've ever had. It was at a place called "Agua Azul"...it was open air (as most restaurants were in the area), and their kitchen was open and right behind the bar, so that was something to watch...even besides the gorgeous ocean!
We started with shrimp bruschetta...sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good.....
And honestly, here was one of the best meals I've ever eaten....it was a grilled piece of fish called Snook (never even heard of it!)...with a melon salad and risotto. The fish combined with the watermelon & cantaloupe was INCREDIBLE! So fresh tasting! And the creamy risotto was a perfect compliment...A M A Z I N G!!!!
For dessert we had the BEST key lime pie ever (aside from the one Scott's Dad makes!! :)...but it was very sweet, and not too tart. Probably not "authentic", but I loved it!
The next day we had a lunch that was included in our horseback riding tour...here was the view from the farm where we ate....
It was a "typical Costa Rican lunch"...we had black beans, rice, corn tortillas, chicken, mango chutney, potatoes & pineapple slices. The mango chutney was sooo good with the chicken...
That night we walked up and down the LONNNNNG hill (all the restaurants were up and down the hills:)...to a place called El Cantina. It had SUCH a pretty atmosphere...all dark wood & candles...
For dinner, I had mahi mahi with caramelized onions, a potato and some vegetables. The corn was really good for some reason.....(sorry, a little blurry)
And I was so excited, that I neglected to take another picture...but here was my VERY blown out picture of my first taste of Tre Leche cake! (this was soooooooooo sweet)
The next day we had another "typical La Mariposa breakfast"...and another "typical Costa Rican lunch" with our zip lining tour...so for dinner, I went a little 'simple.' I had chicken nachos:)
The next morning, in typical Scott & Donna fashion, we found a food tour all the way in Costa Rica:) We went to a vanilla plantation called "Villa Vanilla"......
Here was some cinnamon 'in the wild'....
After a tour of the farm, we had a "flavors of the world" tasting, with all the ingredients right from the plantation. (as close to "natural" as you can get...LOVE THAT!!!!) Here was the ridiculous view while we ate....
And as if the view wasn't wonderful enough...we were treated to some amazing goodies!! We started with cinnamon iced tea...sooooooooooooooooo refreshing!
Here's Scott with a cocoa nibs cookie....
Next: Vanilla bean cheesecake with mango topping...
And finally, a chocolate chili cookie with FRESH CINNAMON ICE CREAM!!! The ice cream was to die for!!! It was just barely sweet, with the best taste of cinnamon! Everything was so fresh tasting and amazingly simple! SO GOOD!
Why we had lunch that day, I don't know...but we did:) We went to the coffee shop down the hill, Cafe Milagro. For lunch I had a hummus sandwich with plantain chips...
And for (lunch) dessert...COCONUT CREAM PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even eat the crust or the cream, because the custard was so good!!!! Scott got a slice of VERY SPICY carrot cake & a fancy coffee drink...
That night, we had dinner that was included with our Mangrove tour...so here's a "typical Costa Rican dinner"....sea bass, cole slaw, plantains, mango chutney and MORE RICE AND BEANS! :)
Well, that was part 1! I hope you enjoyed!!!! :) And if you need me to sell you more on "Why Costa Rica is Wonderful 101"....here ya go....
If we did nothing else on the trip besides watch the sunset every night from La Mariposa, it STILL would have been the best trip ever! It was "Pura Vida!"
Well, that was part 1! I hope you enjoyed!!!! :) And if you need me to sell you more on "Why Costa Rica is Wonderful 101"....here ya go....If we did nothing else on the trip besides watch the sunset every night from La Mariposa, it STILL would have been the best trip ever! It was "Pura Vida!" 
2 comments:
This made me want to go ALL over again!!!
Journey is tasty when you ate different kind of foods i see in the pics that you are ate very delicious food during the journey new york atlanta bus must vist this site also...
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