Manuel Antonio National Park & Drake’s Bay
Costa Rica’s central Pacific region is one of the most interesting habitats in the country as it is a transitional forest. This means that it is between two very different habitats, the seasonally dry forest on the Northern part of the Pacific and the wet lowlands from the south. One of the most visited areas of this area is Manuel Antonio National Park. The park is an island of verdant wildness in a rapidly developing area. While visiting this little jewel of a place, you might consider how close the park came to being just another bunch of noisy restaurants and cabanas. This park was created in 1972, at a time the area was poised for massive tourist development. The parks’ land had gone through various foreign owners, all of whom had managed to alienate and irritate the locals by blocking the access to the beaches and trails. However, the expropriation process was sped up and nowadays the park protects a beautiful remnant of the tropical forest, as well as some sandy beaches and rocky headlands supporting a wide variety of marine life.
This morning we rode our dependable Zodiacs onto the first of four white sandy beaches in Manuel Antonio and took off on nature oriented walks. These rewarded us with sightings of two species of sloths, ctenosaurs and basilisk lizards, agouti and finally white-throated capuchin monkeys. After a quick dip in the warm waters of Espadilla Beach we returned to the ship to start our cruising to this afternoon’s exploration.
Heading south we reached the area of Drake’s Bay located in the Osa Peninsula. This peninsula includes Corcovado National Park and several other privately owned wildlife refuges and preserves, as well as a few well-equipped hotels which provide exploring services to the locals and foreigners that come to visit the most species-rich place in the Central American isthmus. More than 500 species of trees, more than 6000 species of insects, and around 360 species of birds inhabit the area.
Late this afternoon we loaded our Zodiacs and set out to explore the narrow riparian forest of a small river called Agujitas – needle fish river – that infiltrates the realm of the impenetrable Amazon-like jungle of the area. Back on board, we had dinner and went to bed with great expectations for the following day.
