Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica

Our final stop in Costa Rica took us to the stunning national park of Manuel Antonio. World famous for being one of the most bio-diverse places in the world, the park has everything from tropical forests to mangroves and white sandy beaches, making it the perfect environment for thousands of different types of plants and animals to flourish.

Our journey to the park was eventful. Our bus pulled over on a bridge and we all piled out to see a huge float of crocodiles basking on the bank below us. There were at least thirteen of the little beasties, all resting in the sun with their huge jaws wide open... It was a slightly scary sight to say the least!

Once we'd arrived at the Manuel Antonio National Park we got stuck in straight away, heading deep into the vegetation to see if we could spot any animals. We weren't disappointed and before long, we came across a shy little lizard.

And then a not so little lizard....

Then came the monkeys! There were two different varieties- the small, chattering spider monkeys and the larger, more boisterous cappuccino faced monkeys. Both troops were flinging themselves through the trees and playing with each other and there were even baby monkeys clinging to the backs of the older ones!

Then, the best thing happened! We spotted the one animal I was desperate to see- a two toed sloth! Even better, for some reason it was surprisingly active, climbing up its tree and swinging between branches.

Just look at its little smiley face!

Can you see that little green patch on the sloth's back? That's a symbiotic algae which lives in the sloth's fur which helps the sloth camouflage!

After quite a walk, we emerged from the forest and found ourselves digging our toes into pure white sand. The beach was just beautiful. The waves crashed on one side, while monkeys played in the trees on the other and racoons scampered on the sand. We even found another sloth and its baby in a seaside tree!

Day two in Manuel Antonio took us to the mangroves. We started at our guides house where we had a traditional Costa Rican meal and he told us about the importance of tourism in Costa Rica. Tourism is a relatively new industry out there and it became very clear very quickly how important it is, having risen to be the biggest economic sector even over the long established trades, such as the exportation of tropical fruits. We'd seen first hand how welcoming many people working in tourism had been, but it was fascinating to find out just how much it meant to the individuals in the industry and how it had lead to a boom of small businesses.

Before long, we found ourselves bobbing through the mangroves on the lookout for more exotic animals.

The mangroves were teeming with life. Little birds hopped around and jewel coloured crabs scuttled up and down the tree roots. Then, our guide excitedly pointed upwards where a tiny silky anteater was dozing in the branches!

We also spotted some snakes and more giant lizards!

Our last day was spent relaxing beside the pool at our hotel, Plaza Yara. From my sun lounger, I could see the jungle and in the morning and evening, monkeys came and played in the trees. The hotel was also shockingly lovely- we had an absolutely huge room with a jungle view and the entire place was decorated beautifully! The hotel also used the restaurant next door, Z, which turned out to be absolutely wonderful. (It kept my mother very happy as they had a choice of three different seafood platters!).

Manuel Antonio had to be my favourite area of Costa Rica. The entire country has been incredibly vibrant, but Manuel Antonio took this vibrancy to an entire new level.

The Folly Tearoom, Norfolk

At the weekend, my friend Ayesha and I went to visit our good friend Frannie. Frannie was working at a family friend's tearoom in Norfolk for the summer and so had promised us a day of relaxing on the beach in the sunshine, followed by tea and cake at The Folly Tearoom. However, upon our arrival, our plans quickly flew out of the window and we found ourselves having a rather fabulous time, a long way from any sand.

We met Frannie at a little Norfolk pub where we were introduced to some new friends of hers. Soon after, we were invited back to theirs for a dip in their pool. Conveniently remembering my pet hate for sand, we eagerly accepted...

...and ended up at one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen!

Not a bad place for a dip!

After a rather happy splash around, we were invited to a pool party that evening...at another estate! Feeling a little blown away at this point, Ayesh and I happily went along with the flow and found ourselves dancing (and swimming) the night away.

The next morning, after a little paddle in the pool, we went with Frannie to work and finally got to see the little tearoom she'd been raving about. It really was incredibly pretty. The whole place was kitted out in a vintage style (without being too fussy) with beautiful mix and match tea cups and cake stands. I especially loved the duck egg blue and gold theme running throughout the whole establishment. It was very apparent that a lot of care and attention had been taken in putting The Folly together, and our little Frannie looked at home amongst the home made cakes and brownies (some of which she'd baked herself!).

Ayeshie and I tucked in. I'd gone for a slice of Frannie's very elaborate chocolate cake (decorated with live flowers and glitter!) and Ayesh went for cheese scones with caramelised onion chutney on the side, all washed down with pots of tea, I have to say, the chai tea I ordered was incredibly delicious- I'd been told the teas had been specially blended for The Folly and I wish I'd asked if they'd sell me some of the tea leaves to take home with me!

Ayesh salivating over her scones

Sadly however our trip had to come to a close, partly because we couldn't eat any more, but also because the car park meter was running out... So we said our goodbyes and headed homewards.

Ayesh and I had a wonderful trip. We'd met some lovely people and had a fantastic brunch at The Folly. My only regret was that I hadn't bought my proper camera (sorry!) but needless to say, I will be going back as soon as I possibly can!

Malta: Part Six

Our final day's adventures took us off to Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing village at the south of the island. After a fairly lengthy bus journey (and some slight confusion over stops!) we found ourselves walking along the pretty sea front of the village. 

Floating in the bay were brightly coloured, traditionally hand painted fishing boats. Many of these had eyes painted on their bows, which superstition says protects the boats from danger. These little traditional boats provide the fresh fish cooked up in the numerous restaurants spaced out along the sea front.

After wandering the length of the village, we settled down in one of these little restaurants and tucked into some of the local produce, all of which tasted wonderfully fresh! 

The village was incredibly pretty and it was interesting to see how the fishermen still used the traditional boats to catch fish. However, before long, it was time to return to our hotel and hunt down dinner!

That evening (our last evening!) we walked into the centre of St Julian's and chose a restaurant called 'Zest' which turned out to be a real treat! The menu was, as far as I was concerned, perfect. Advertised as 'east meets west', it was full of sushi, Thai curries, Japanese grills and noodle-y dishes. I was in heaven!

We ordered off one of their set sharing menus and tucked in to the mountain of food which then appeared.

Firstly, an amuse-bouche and cocktails.

Then, we started with sushi, sticky chelsea buns, chicken and lamb satay, dim sum parcels and a fantastic glass noodle salad. 

Followed by a trio of thai curries (Lu had another noodle dish as well but I can't quite remember what it was!).

And then delicious deserts which included a fiery chocolate and chilli fondant with raspberry sorbet.  

I just wish I'd had more room to eat more- by the end I was bursting!

Zest was fantastic- the food amazing and the staff incredibly accommodating. They had delivered a truly wonderful last meal on Malta. 

I had a brilliant holiday visiting Malta. Not only was the island beautiful, but everyone we met was incredibly friendly and willing to share something about the island and its fascinating history. I learnt more than I could have expected from such a short stay and I would love to return in the future to find out more!