PUNTARENAS PROVINCE, COSTA RICA :: Our favorite restaurant in Costa Rica is also perhaps its most famous. You can't miss the giant cargo plane while driving through Manuel Antonio. The restaurant is themed around one of two C-123 planes used by the CIA during the mid-80s. Its sister plane was shot down by Nicaragua's military while smuggling arms to the rebel Contras. The sole survivor of the crash, CIA agent Eugene Hausenfus, confessed his role in the operation and exposed the elaborate Iran-Contra Affair. Upon being caught, the Reagan administration abandoned the operation and this plane, which was later transported to its current location and turned into a restaurant! We enjoyed its nice views across the ocean, its cool history, its creative use of recycled materials throughout, and of course, its yummy variety of fresh food and refreshing drinks!
