Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
The last day of exploration of our trip brought us to the aquamarine waters, white sandy beaches, and lush green forests of a national park. Located on the central pacific coast of Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio National Park, offers great swimming, outstanding panoramic views and the best chances to see wildlife, up close and personal.
Through different walks we all got great photos of white faced capuchin monkeys, scanning the forest from top to bottom, looking for any kind of food: insects, crabs, fruits, leaves, definitely they are not picky. They are so agile and curious that actually a troop of them came to our beach station, to the enjoyment of our stationary walkers.
Nonetheless, our primate list did not end there; we had the great luck of finding a troop from Red-backed squirrel monkeys. They are very small, with non-prehensile tails, active hunters and are hard to find. They have a very restricted geographical range, which means that there are just two places in Costa Rica were they live, and for that reason they were the jackpot of our trip.
One of the trails has a very elusive name, Sloth Valley, which tells quit well what there is to find. Yes, sloths. This spoiled creation of Mother Nature is not related to the monkeys although it spends 99% of its life hanging from the trees, it is a mammal but its body temperature is regulated by the environment and oddly enough, the only particular reason that it will descend from the canopy is to visit the bathroom, and just once a week.
This area also has a great geological history. It was one of the first three volcanic islands that emerged from the oceanic crust, around 50 million years ago. Its constant eruptions filled in the spaces among the three islands, creating the first hints from the pacific coast of Costa Rica. That the beginning of the isthmus which along with Panama allowed the greatest interchange of flora and fauna in the new world.
Manuel Antonio was the cherry on the cake for all of us, a nice wrap up of rain forest, mammals, birds, great swimming, kayaking and even some shopping. We are sad because it came to an end but we are blessed because it happened… Thanks to all of our guests for an amazing trip…
The last day of exploration of our trip brought us to the aquamarine waters, white sandy beaches, and lush green forests of a national park. Located on the central pacific coast of Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio National Park, offers great swimming, outstanding panoramic views and the best chances to see wildlife, up close and personal.
Through different walks we all got great photos of white faced capuchin monkeys, scanning the forest from top to bottom, looking for any kind of food: insects, crabs, fruits, leaves, definitely they are not picky. They are so agile and curious that actually a troop of them came to our beach station, to the enjoyment of our stationary walkers.
Nonetheless, our primate list did not end there; we had the great luck of finding a troop from Red-backed squirrel monkeys. They are very small, with non-prehensile tails, active hunters and are hard to find. They have a very restricted geographical range, which means that there are just two places in Costa Rica were they live, and for that reason they were the jackpot of our trip.
One of the trails has a very elusive name, Sloth Valley, which tells quit well what there is to find. Yes, sloths. This spoiled creation of Mother Nature is not related to the monkeys although it spends 99% of its life hanging from the trees, it is a mammal but its body temperature is regulated by the environment and oddly enough, the only particular reason that it will descend from the canopy is to visit the bathroom, and just once a week.
This area also has a great geological history. It was one of the first three volcanic islands that emerged from the oceanic crust, around 50 million years ago. Its constant eruptions filled in the spaces among the three islands, creating the first hints from the pacific coast of Costa Rica. That the beginning of the isthmus which along with Panama allowed the greatest interchange of flora and fauna in the new world.
Manuel Antonio was the cherry on the cake for all of us, a nice wrap up of rain forest, mammals, birds, great swimming, kayaking and even some shopping. We are sad because it came to an end but we are blessed because it happened… Thanks to all of our guests for an amazing trip…
