The sun began to show up through the overcast sky. Its rays began to reveal a gorgeous shore line with a lush green forest behind it.  A pair of brown boobies flew above the bow of National Geographic Sea Lion as she approached her anchorage of the morning.

Right after the early morning update, the anchor was dropped. We had arrived to our morning destination: Manuel Antonio National Park. This is one of Costa Rica’s smallest parks in which you can see 75% of the species of Costa Rica’s primates.

We landed in one of the park’s beaches known as Espadilla Sur, where we were greeted by two local guides of the parks. They prepared us with some highlights to look out for while on the trails as we divided in groups to explore the park. Some of the guest decided to hike through a trail known as Cathedral Point while others decided to take a gentler stroll in a trail called Sloth Valley Trail.

Both hikes were well rewarded: it seemed like the animals and birds just decided to honor our visit by showing up. One of the first sightings was a troop of howler monkeys that were foraging up at the canopy of a tall tree.  White faced capuchin monkeys were jumping from branch to branch looking for something to eat. A small group of northern raccoons patrolled the beach looking for any unguarded backpack.

Other great sightings were-three toed and two-toed sloth. Several of them had babies who curiously spied on us as we gazed at them taking photos. Other sloths just kept doing what they do best- sleeping in between the crutch of the trees. 

While enjoying all these shows, we spotted the smallest primate of Costa Rica, the Central American squirrel monkey.  This monkeys, in spite of not having a prehensile tail, move very fast through the forest. Some were curious enough to pass very close to us. What a treat!

After our walks we decided to refresh ourselves. What better way than swimming in the tropical waters of this park? It was so good that we all decided to return after lunch to continue enjoying this park.

It was hard to leave this paradise at the end of the day, but we were so anxious to continue our exploration through the wonders of Costa Rica.