Manuel Antonio National Park
It was a Merry Christmas indeed, with gifts of wildlife galore! We spent virtually our entire Christmas Day at Manuel Antonio National Park, one of Costa Rica’s richest and most visited Parks. We went ashore immediately after an early breakfast, to be the first park visitors for the day, and landed on an idyllic tropical beach. As we waited for shoes to be changed and groups to gather, a pair of Fiery-billed Aracaris landed nearby, dazzling even the non-birdwatchers with their bright Christmas colors.
Along the trails, it seemed we could hardly take 50 steps before the guides had spotted more wildlife and set up their powerful spotting scopes. We stopped for Greater white-lined bats, iguanas, Crab-eating raccoons and a juvenile Plumed Basilisk all within the first 200 meters of the walk!
Another 100 meters on, we were all craning our necks and gazing skyward for a glimpse of the blonde fur of a Hoffman’s Two-toed sloths. Then it was a Pale-billed woodpecker, some Mantled Howler Monkeys and a Brown-throated three-toed sloth. Birdwatchers loved the Baltimore oriole sighting, and the family of raccoons that wandered through our “station” on the beach amused everyone.
Back to the beach after lunch, we swam and rode boogie boards and soaked up as much sun, sand and salt water as we could, before returning to the ship in the late afternoon. Margrit entertained and educated us with a talk on the “Ingredients of Biodiversity.”
In the very last bit of daylight, we got a call from the Bridge – they’d seen a whale, so we all ran for the bow. On a gloriously calm Pacific, we sat quietly, scanning in all directions for signs of this cetacean. Just as we were beginning to think that this animal had eluded us, TWO humpback whales surfaced just 15 feet off our starboard side! The sound of the exhalation was startling and guests in the lounge said their view from the windows was amazing.
All told, it was a wonderful Christmas Day.
