El Avion, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

About midway along Costa Rica's Pacific coast, not far from Quepos, is Manuel Antonio township and National Park, a popular destination on the tourist trail there. For me, the park was poorly done, too much concrete, information boards like grade 4 school projects, a pretty shabby kiosk area at its centre... and too expensive. Its township was fantastic tho, and so too the gorgeous Playa Espadilla just outside the park. I really only saw monkeys in the park, but outside of the park I saw my first giant Spiny-tailed Iguanas, my first Toucans and from a cafe balcony, my first Scarlet Macaws!

One of the best cafe/restaurants in town was El Avion, an open, elevated dining space with a supreme view over an island off of the National Park, and a massive ex-US-army war plane running through it, the cockpit and nose the facade out front on the street...