Manuel Antonio National Park
Calm waters and a colourful sunrise welcomed us to Manuel Antonio National Park. This little jewel of the central Pacific of Costa Rica is one of the most visited protected areas in the country. Its size is about 1500 acres, but it posses a vital tropical moist transitional forest for its forest inhabitants.
We dropped anchor at 6:45 a.m. and after a hearty breakfast we came ashore on Espadilla Beach to enjoy a forest hike to Cathedral Point and another one to the “Sloth Valley” trail. Both walks granted us opportunities to observe lots of wildlife, including the basilisk lizard, three toed-sloths, spiny-tailed iguana, mantled howler and white–throated capuchin monkey and a rare sighting of a helmeted iguana. The latter is one of the most difficult reptiles to find in the wild. It measures about 12 inches, but it remains immobile most of the time even when approached at close range. As the groups returned from the different walks, the warmer late morning temperature drew our attention to a relaxing swimming opportunity in the delightful Pacific Ocean.
At sea for the afternoon, the search for marine life generated pantropical spotted dolphins. In the late afternoon, Gustavo started the presentation series with his talk, “An Introduction to Costa Rica’s History,” followed by a wonderful sunset cocktail to wrap up our first day experiencing the dynamics of the forest in Costa Rica.
Calm waters and a colourful sunrise welcomed us to Manuel Antonio National Park. This little jewel of the central Pacific of Costa Rica is one of the most visited protected areas in the country. Its size is about 1500 acres, but it posses a vital tropical moist transitional forest for its forest inhabitants.
We dropped anchor at 6:45 a.m. and after a hearty breakfast we came ashore on Espadilla Beach to enjoy a forest hike to Cathedral Point and another one to the “Sloth Valley” trail. Both walks granted us opportunities to observe lots of wildlife, including the basilisk lizard, three toed-sloths, spiny-tailed iguana, mantled howler and white–throated capuchin monkey and a rare sighting of a helmeted iguana. The latter is one of the most difficult reptiles to find in the wild. It measures about 12 inches, but it remains immobile most of the time even when approached at close range. As the groups returned from the different walks, the warmer late morning temperature drew our attention to a relaxing swimming opportunity in the delightful Pacific Ocean.
At sea for the afternoon, the search for marine life generated pantropical spotted dolphins. In the late afternoon, Gustavo started the presentation series with his talk, “An Introduction to Costa Rica’s History,” followed by a wonderful sunset cocktail to wrap up our first day experiencing the dynamics of the forest in Costa Rica.
