Manuel Antonio National Park and Refugio Curu
This morning we woke especially early with help from fresh Costa Rican coffee. We had permission to enter Manuel Antonio National Park in the cool of early morning, before the normal opening time, when wildlife would be more active. Light was filling the sky as we stepped from the pristine, white beach onto the park’s trails. Among the animals we saw were the two-toed sloth, agouti, white-nosed coati, squirrel monkey, white-fronted capuchin monkey, and this small, curious Central American white tailed deer. For North Americans a deer may seem commonplace, but here the situation is quite different; they are extremely rare in Costa Rica and Panama. The outrageously colorful fiery-billed aracari, the cartoon-like pale-billed woodpecker, and the beautifully melodic black-bellied wren delighted birdwatchers.
Back aboard ship, Julio gave a fascinating lecture on Central American history. We saw fins of large manta rays, and many of their smaller relatives called mobulas leapt clear out of the water; it was a spectacular sight! Late in the afternoon we arrived at Refugio Curu to explore a tropical dry forest. Many of the trees had temporarily lost leaves to conserve water during dry season, but parrots, parakeets, scarlet macaws, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and monkeys remained active. Tonight we are motoring south under a clear, star-filled sky.
This morning we woke especially early with help from fresh Costa Rican coffee. We had permission to enter Manuel Antonio National Park in the cool of early morning, before the normal opening time, when wildlife would be more active. Light was filling the sky as we stepped from the pristine, white beach onto the park’s trails. Among the animals we saw were the two-toed sloth, agouti, white-nosed coati, squirrel monkey, white-fronted capuchin monkey, and this small, curious Central American white tailed deer. For North Americans a deer may seem commonplace, but here the situation is quite different; they are extremely rare in Costa Rica and Panama. The outrageously colorful fiery-billed aracari, the cartoon-like pale-billed woodpecker, and the beautifully melodic black-bellied wren delighted birdwatchers.
Back aboard ship, Julio gave a fascinating lecture on Central American history. We saw fins of large manta rays, and many of their smaller relatives called mobulas leapt clear out of the water; it was a spectacular sight! Late in the afternoon we arrived at Refugio Curu to explore a tropical dry forest. Many of the trees had temporarily lost leaves to conserve water during dry season, but parrots, parakeets, scarlet macaws, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and monkeys remained active. Tonight we are motoring south under a clear, star-filled sky.
