Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Our first morning of explorations found us heading ashore on the sandy beaches of Manuel Antonio National Park, the smallest park in Costa Rica’s impressive system, which covers fully a quarter of the country’s area. Landing just as the park opened, the naturalists gave us an introduction to the neo-tropical moist forest as we walked the trails. Abundant and diverse, the vegetation is of great interest. Iguanas patrolled the beaches. Leaf-cutter ants toiled with their green cargo along paths worn by previous generations. But the stars were the amazingly easy to spot mammals and colorful birds. White-faced monkeys, coatis, agoutis a raccoon and what seemed like countless three-toed sloths, including a few females with babies, lined the trails.
As the day warmed, our attention was drawn by the delightfully warm Pacific Ocean, gently breaking on the beach. Many of us swam or waded, while others strolled along the beach before boarding Zodiacs for the ride home. Before returning to the Sea Voyager, we did a slight detour to explore a nearby islet. Brown boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, Sally Lightfoot crabs and a variety of intertidal life caught our attention, along with the many caves and arches along the shoreline.
At sea for the afternoon, Julio began our presentation series with his talk: “An Introduction to Central American History.” We also held a briefing in anticipation of sea kayak outings in the coming days. Our search for marine life yielded pantropical spotted dolphins.
After a tropical sunset, we had our first evening recap and then adjourned to the dining room for another fine meal as the nearly full moon shone silver on the water.
Our first morning of explorations found us heading ashore on the sandy beaches of Manuel Antonio National Park, the smallest park in Costa Rica’s impressive system, which covers fully a quarter of the country’s area. Landing just as the park opened, the naturalists gave us an introduction to the neo-tropical moist forest as we walked the trails. Abundant and diverse, the vegetation is of great interest. Iguanas patrolled the beaches. Leaf-cutter ants toiled with their green cargo along paths worn by previous generations. But the stars were the amazingly easy to spot mammals and colorful birds. White-faced monkeys, coatis, agoutis a raccoon and what seemed like countless three-toed sloths, including a few females with babies, lined the trails.
As the day warmed, our attention was drawn by the delightfully warm Pacific Ocean, gently breaking on the beach. Many of us swam or waded, while others strolled along the beach before boarding Zodiacs for the ride home. Before returning to the Sea Voyager, we did a slight detour to explore a nearby islet. Brown boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, Sally Lightfoot crabs and a variety of intertidal life caught our attention, along with the many caves and arches along the shoreline.
At sea for the afternoon, Julio began our presentation series with his talk: “An Introduction to Central American History.” We also held a briefing in anticipation of sea kayak outings in the coming days. Our search for marine life yielded pantropical spotted dolphins.
After a tropical sunset, we had our first evening recap and then adjourned to the dining room for another fine meal as the nearly full moon shone silver on the water.
