Manuel Antonio National Park, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
We arrived at Manuel Antonio National Park shortly after sunrise. We disembarked at the deserted beach of Espadilla. Half the group went on the long walk to Cathedral Point. The trail that is found on this small peninsula really is a temple to Mother Nature. At the beach, we started our wonderful day of spotting wildlife with a two toed sloth. The rainforest was just starting to get some light in the understory as we heard the quiet nibbling of the Central American agoutis. These large rodents are easily overlooked in the understory with their excellent camouflage. They are important seed dispersers of the larger seeds in this environment.
As we continued we found a nice view of Manuel Antonio beach located on the other side of the tombolo. We followed the tracks of the short walkers. They had found three toed sloths, common basilisks, white throated capuchins, howler monkeys, pale billed woodpeckers and a mother crab eating raccoon followed by her cubs. The family looked healthy and it seemed like it had been a good year for many breeding animals in the park.
We went back on board for lunch and to enjoy the ocean before the park closed. The lifeboat drill was followed by a great lecture on monkeys given by Isabel Salas. The talk was a great complement to our morning visit that yielded two different species of primates.
We navigated to Drake Bay for a calm night of great sleep, to recharge our energy for what promises to be a great day in the Osa Peninsula.
