Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio National Park

Blessedly saved from development with its boundaries, Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the smallest in Costa Rica, is the area’s crowning glory. In 1972 the park was created, at a time when the area was poised for massive tourist development. Today, the park protects a small but beautiful remnant of the tropical forest that once covered the region, as well as sandy beaches and rocky headlands supporting a wide variety of marine life. The park is one of the few remaining habitats of the “mono titi” (squirrel monkey).

Two groups of guests went for a hike on a trail known as “Punta Catedral”. It is a forked trail, about 1.5 miles long that normally takes about an hour to walk, but for us, it took 2 hours due to a troop of white-faced monkeys found up on the trees along the trail. They were searching for food and checking all the branches and leaves of the trees. We got to see some of them find caterpillars and other insects. We couldn’t believe how close they got without paying any attention to us. This is only understood when you realize they were in a “hunting mode” and all their attention was on searching for food.

After lunch, a large group of guests went on a “canopy tour” (also known as a zip line tour) twenty minutes away from the national park. The rest of us went back to the white sand beach for water activities and to look for the elusive Titi monkey (Squirrel Monkey). Only some guests got to see them as they were moving fast through the forest. This National Park has a great reputation in terms of its abundance of wildlife, and we confirmed it. By the end of the day we had seen three different kinds of monkeys, two different kinds of sloths, iguanas, lots of different kinds of crabs, colorful birds and hawks. All this among some of the most remarkable animals, including raccoons, whose ancestors came from North America when the Panamanian Isthmus was formed 5 million years ago.

Today was a relaxing day, enjoying the wildlife and the white sand beaches of Manuel Antonio National Park. We all agreed that there could not have been a better end to a great trip.