Staying in a vacation rental home is very different from staying at a hotel. Everything is well, more personal – from staff services to that vase in the corner the owner personally picked out. You’re staying in someone’s home not in a concrete and glass building owned by an anonymous corporation. The money you’ll save and the great experience you’ll have will likely keep you coming back. Make sure you avoid these common pitfalls so you’ll be welcomed back.

Critical Mistake #1 – Booking a Reservation at the Last Minute

The longer you wait to reserve the higher the risk of having to settle for the home no one else wanted. Do you have your heart set on staying on the beach on your birthday? To avoid disappointment make your reservation 3-9 months in advance especially for peak Easter, Christmas and New Year’s weeks. It’s true, you may find a last minute deal but it will probably be your 3rd or 4th choice. Decide whether your priority is the perfect vacation rental home or the take-what-you-can-get discount home.

Critical Mistake #2 – Failure to Ask for Details

Does beach front mean a hilltop ocean view and a 15-minute drive to the beach or are you a 1-minute walk from wiggling your tootsies in the sand? Is the home in a noisy neighborhood? You may want to be conveniently located but you don’t want to be kept awake all night. Are concierge and housekeeping services included or is there a separate fee? Does the price include taxes? How big are the rooms? Don’t rely on photos alone. A wide angle lens can make a closet look palatial. Don’t assume anything. When in doubt, ask.
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Manuel Antonio has a surprisingly abundant live music scene. Whether you’re in the mood for rock, soul, Latin, reggae or country you’ll find it here. Venues range from tropical restaurants to 5 star hotels to the local’s hang out bar in downtown Quepos. From time to time I’ll feature different groups here. One you don’t want to miss is song stylist, Kezirah.

Formerly known as Fuzzy Rojas this singer’s smoky, soulful voice is a cross between Toni Braxton and Billy Holiday. She sings R & B, soul, jazz, funk and more. While others strive to sound exactly like the original artist, Kezirah takes a song and spins it into several different styles. She’ll put a reggae spin on Sade’s “By Your Side,” a soulful spin on “Favorite Things,” or a jazz spin on “Besame Mucho.” She also has an original song, “My House on the Hill,” that she co-wrote with base player Drew Pickins at her hilltop home outside of Quepos.

If you want an inside peek at what the locals do for fun, join them Monday nights at La Hacienda Restaurant where Kezirah is accompanied by her pianist Ricardo Alfaro. The first few notes of “Hit the Road Jack” get half the audience on the dance floor and others onstage to sing background (including yours truly). With a well-timed thrust of her microphone Kezirah gets a spontaneous and gravely-voiced “What-choo say!” out of one of the dancers. Her show is part comedy routine as she jokes with the crowd and fellow musicians, often cracking herself up with improvised lyrics. The more fun she has, the more fun the crowd has.

Having fun flows through Kezirah’s gene pool. She and her brothers were latch key kids forbidden to leave the house while both of their parents worked, so the siblings got creative. Wire hangers became space helmets as they played Star Trek, “Captain, I’m only human, the engine’s about to blow!” They especially enjoyed dressing up like Sly and the Family Stone to perform for their parents. Originally from Philadelphia, Kezirah spent 20 years in California before settling in Costa Rica 7 years ago, expanding her music career and fan base ever since.

If you’re in the mood for “Jazz a lotta Soul…and then Some” join Kezirah at La Hacienda in Plaza Yara Monday nights from 7-9 P.M. Some nights local musicians drop in. You may find David on flute, Lance on harmonica or a talented tourist on holiday doing his thing. You’ll find Kezirah at la Hacienda February through September. The rest of the year she retreats to northern California and Philly for some quality family time.

Call ahead to confirm as changes do occur…

7 Nights of Live Music

Monday

La Hacienda – 506-2777-3473
Kezirah (formerly known as Fuzzy Rojas)  7-9 P.M.
R & B, Jazz, Funk, Soul, and more
Reservations recommended
February-September
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Howler*                                                                       Capuchin**                                                            Red-backed Squirrel*

I can’t explain why primates fascinate me any better than explain why I love chocolate. My earliest childhood memory is empathizing with “King Kong” at the movies; I looked into his eyes and felt his pain. At the zoo I hung with the primates and studied their reactions to their human gawkers and asked my silent questions; “Do you hate it in there?” “Do you miss the rain forest? My fantasy was to hide in the bathroom until after closing and set them all free.

Now, you probably all know this but primates are humans, monkeys and apes. All primates have an opposing thumb, have a large well-developed brain and can walk upright. What 99% of the planet doesn’t know is the difference between monkeys and apes. Monkeys have tails; apes don’t. What you’ll find in Costa Rica are monkeys.

When Manuel Antonio National Park boundaries were established in 1972 – no one told the monkeys. This puts us in the unique position of living in a reverse zoo of sorts. Most vacation rental homes and hotels here maximize their views with huge windows. We’ve woken up many mornings with monkeys peeking through our window. My husband and I bought our two properties within their foraging route; locally referred to as the Monkey Corridor. With the help of local botanists we planted hundreds of fruit trees to help preserve and enhance the biodiversity. If there’s a monkey heaven – this is it.

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Everyone brings a camera to Manuel Antonio on their vacation but does everyone take good photos? If you’re one of those people who is more disappointed than pleased with your vacation snapshots, that’s all about to change.

My photos have appeared on book and magazine covers, calendars, posters and every imaginable medium including stamps. An artist once called and asked my permission to paint a 22 foot reproduction of one of my orangutan photos on the outside wall of a restaurant. Several years ago my photo agent in New York assigned codes to everything, so I’ve lost track of exactly where my stuff ends up but the checks keep coming.

Confession time – I’m not a great master at lighting techniques or an expert at all the bells and whistles today’s cameras have to offer. I hate bells and whistles and although I’ve been taking photographs for 25 years, I’ve never had a dark room either. My talent comes more from choosing fascinating subjects and having infinite patience to capture special moments that take place in front of my camera lens. I was also fortunate enough to take classes from National Geographic photographers at UCLA. The 3 secrets I learned from them and am about to share with you will make a dramatic difference in your travel photos. The beauty of these 3 secrets is their simplicity.

Secret #1: Never, Ever Center Your Main Subject

Everyone puts their main subject in the middle of their photo. Bor-ing. When you place your subject off-center viewers sense there’s something different about your photo. Though they may not consciously know exactly why, they’re compelled to take a closer look. Have a look at my Orangutan in the Mist shot. I added a grid to give you several placement options. To compose an attention-grabbing photo you can put your main subject wherever the lines cross or even within any box other than the center one. Just remember to first focus your subject in the center by pressing the shutter half way then without releasing the shutter shift your camera so your subject is where you want it. Next, gently press the shutter the rest of the way. Your subject will remain in focus.

Secret #2: Shoot Everything Twice

Cameras are constructed in a horizontal format, so it feels natural to take photos that way. However, for every photo you take in a horizontal format, stand your camera on its side and take another in a vertical format. Some subjects lend themselves to the vertical format like tall trees or skyscrapers as in the previous photo. When I wrote photo illustrated books and magazine articles the two formats allowed art directors to wrap the text around my photos in different and interesting ways. If every page looked the same it would soon become monotonous. If you’re putting together a travel blog or a scrapbook you’ll have several options of how to make the text and photos flow together in an appealing way.
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Welcome to my blog about Manuel Antonio, the emerald of Costa Rica where the color green was conceived. I first came here 20 years ago as a freelance wildlife photographer. Primates are my specialty and Costa Rica has 4 species. I’d photographed gorillas in Rwanda, chimps in Uganda and orangutans in Borneo and was looking for primates in a place that didn’t take 2 days to get there from Manhattan Beach, California.

My passion for apes and monkeys began when King Kong first stole my heart in the front row of the Jewel Theater before my feet could even reach the ground. From my very first trip to Costa Rica the dream to live on a beach with monkeys in my yard wrapped itself around my brain. I moved here 5 years ago and now enjoy daily visits from 3 species of monkeys.

I’ve embraced the road less traveled with enthusiasm for more than 30 years. By far my most memorable experiences have been at the side of a native or an expat. I’ve stayed in the home of my Sherpa guide in the Himalayas, slept in a hammock in an Amazon village, and shocked myself by eating toasted crickets and silk worms with my expat friend Bernie at a roadside stand in Thailand. Don’t ask me how they tasted. My only memory is textures; crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside.

Now, I’m not suggesting you eat bugs on your next vacation. This is merely to illustrate the very different travel experiences you can have. I was fortunate enough to have a friend or to make a friend in each of these places who delighted in showing me what lay hidden within the white space between the lines of the best guide books. My mission through this blog is to be that person for you – the one who leaves you feeling as if you’ve seen the “real” Manuel Antonio. My blog will be about everything from wildlife to nightlife and will also be inspired by your questions or comments.

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