Manuel Antonio National Park
Costa Rica is a well known eco-country, due to importance they give to the conservation of it natural habitats; around 25% is under the national parks’ protection and a good 10% is protected by private initiative. For a country whose main income has been coffee and bananas, having a quarter of its territory totally protected is expensive.
For the last day of our expedition, we were blessed with blue skies, lush rain forest, deep blue ocean waters and a white sand beach, all this united in of the most popular parks of the country, Manuel Antonio. is The park located in the central region of the pacific shoreline, acting as a meeting place for the dry forest from the northwest and the rain forest of the southwest.
We began our walks early in the morning, the sunlight shining through the bright green leaves the perfect frame to spot a troop of howler monkeys; these creatures gave honor to their name when the males howled as loud as they could, making the forest rumble. But this nature show was just beginning. We spotted a three-toed sloth finding its way down from a tree. Sloths are truly spoiled creations of Mother Nature: they live in trees but are not monkeys, eat only leaves but are not koalas, and are mammals that do not control their body temperature very well.
As we were getting close to our beach station, we spot a two-toed sloth mother with its baby, sleeping in the fork of a branch. Two-toed are larger and with longer, blonder fur, belonging to a different family than the three-toed, but the same order. Two-toed sloths are actually quite interesting because they are like cousins of armadillos and anteaters - all of them have an odd vertebra at the end of their backbones.
But the wildlife parade was not even coming close to and end; a troop of white-faced monkeys came close to the station to check for unattended picnic baskets, while a raccoon took the opportunity to scan our garbage basket.
What a day to close a week full of wonderful experiences, breathtaking moments, some will be printed in our pictures but the most important of them will be carved in our hearts. We are part of this beautiful world; we are just another link in this chain. Let’s go back to what really matters; let’s go back to Mother Nature. Thanks to all, for coming and celebrating the wonders of Costa Rica and Panama.
Costa Rica is a well known eco-country, due to importance they give to the conservation of it natural habitats; around 25% is under the national parks’ protection and a good 10% is protected by private initiative. For a country whose main income has been coffee and bananas, having a quarter of its territory totally protected is expensive.
For the last day of our expedition, we were blessed with blue skies, lush rain forest, deep blue ocean waters and a white sand beach, all this united in of the most popular parks of the country, Manuel Antonio. is The park located in the central region of the pacific shoreline, acting as a meeting place for the dry forest from the northwest and the rain forest of the southwest.
We began our walks early in the morning, the sunlight shining through the bright green leaves the perfect frame to spot a troop of howler monkeys; these creatures gave honor to their name when the males howled as loud as they could, making the forest rumble. But this nature show was just beginning. We spotted a three-toed sloth finding its way down from a tree. Sloths are truly spoiled creations of Mother Nature: they live in trees but are not monkeys, eat only leaves but are not koalas, and are mammals that do not control their body temperature very well.
As we were getting close to our beach station, we spot a two-toed sloth mother with its baby, sleeping in the fork of a branch. Two-toed are larger and with longer, blonder fur, belonging to a different family than the three-toed, but the same order. Two-toed sloths are actually quite interesting because they are like cousins of armadillos and anteaters - all of them have an odd vertebra at the end of their backbones.
But the wildlife parade was not even coming close to and end; a troop of white-faced monkeys came close to the station to check for unattended picnic baskets, while a raccoon took the opportunity to scan our garbage basket.
What a day to close a week full of wonderful experiences, breathtaking moments, some will be printed in our pictures but the most important of them will be carved in our hearts. We are part of this beautiful world; we are just another link in this chain. Let’s go back to what really matters; let’s go back to Mother Nature. Thanks to all, for coming and celebrating the wonders of Costa Rica and Panama.
