Manuel Antonio National Park
We began our sea adventure last night, as we arrived to the Herradura Bay pier and walked into our home away from home for the next eight days, our faithful vessel the M.V. Sea Voyager. The first full day started today as we approached Manuel Antonio National Park, and we watched the first sunrise of the week. The bright orange sun raised above the horizon as the ghostly-gray moon tried to hide quickly behind the Pacific Ocean. As we entered the small bay, we could see a lot of vegetation reaching the edge of the beach. Little did we know that behind that mass of green, brown or pink trees, lay the realm of many species of animals. Anything from hard shelled cycadas to three-toed sloths make of this park their home.
Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular National Parks in Costa Rica, not only for its famous white sand beaches, but for the large number of medium-sized mammals that live within its boundaries and are in general easy to spot. The park’s reputation fully satisfied our hopes, as we could add to our life list nine species of Neotropical mammals in only a couple of hours of walking through its trails. Two and three-toed sloths, white-throated capuchins, howler and squirrel monkeys, coatimundis, agoutis, crab-eating raccoons, and proboscis or long-nosed bats were spotted by almost everyone today. To these sightings we can as well add several species of reptiles, insects, many types of birds and countless numbers of plants, all telling a different story to anyone, that like us, is willing to listen.
Furthermore, taking a dip in the warm waters of the coastal Costa Rican Central Pacific was a dream come true for most of us, who accustomed to colder climates, can rarely jump into the ocean.
Back on board we settled in to reposition our vessel towards tomorrow’s destination, the soothing rocking of the ship and the subtle light of the moon putting us to sleep, with the expectations of what our next day will bring for us.
We began our sea adventure last night, as we arrived to the Herradura Bay pier and walked into our home away from home for the next eight days, our faithful vessel the M.V. Sea Voyager. The first full day started today as we approached Manuel Antonio National Park, and we watched the first sunrise of the week. The bright orange sun raised above the horizon as the ghostly-gray moon tried to hide quickly behind the Pacific Ocean. As we entered the small bay, we could see a lot of vegetation reaching the edge of the beach. Little did we know that behind that mass of green, brown or pink trees, lay the realm of many species of animals. Anything from hard shelled cycadas to three-toed sloths make of this park their home.
Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular National Parks in Costa Rica, not only for its famous white sand beaches, but for the large number of medium-sized mammals that live within its boundaries and are in general easy to spot. The park’s reputation fully satisfied our hopes, as we could add to our life list nine species of Neotropical mammals in only a couple of hours of walking through its trails. Two and three-toed sloths, white-throated capuchins, howler and squirrel monkeys, coatimundis, agoutis, crab-eating raccoons, and proboscis or long-nosed bats were spotted by almost everyone today. To these sightings we can as well add several species of reptiles, insects, many types of birds and countless numbers of plants, all telling a different story to anyone, that like us, is willing to listen.
Furthermore, taking a dip in the warm waters of the coastal Costa Rican Central Pacific was a dream come true for most of us, who accustomed to colder climates, can rarely jump into the ocean.
Back on board we settled in to reposition our vessel towards tomorrow’s destination, the soothing rocking of the ship and the subtle light of the moon putting us to sleep, with the expectations of what our next day will bring for us.
