Manuel Antonio National Park
After a delicious breakfast onboard we disembarked on the wonderful beach of the park; being the first ones walking the trails of this protected area, we enjoyed the freshness of the morning and the giant diversity of the park.
Manuel Antonio is one of the smallest national parks in Costa Rica and one of the most-visited ones; its beautiful beach and the constant presence of medium-sized mammals – like the famous capuchin and howler monkeys, agoutis and sloths, among others – makes this area a special one.
Not only had we seen these creatures, but also a very large reptile called the black-banded iguana or Ctenousaur lizard; these individuals are completely omnivorous and they even practice cannibalism. They actually see us with different eyes and one would say even with hungry eyes. These medium-sized iguanas sit on trunks of washed-away logs, which facilitated our approach to photograph them. Being the third-largest lizard in the country (after the American crocodile and spectacle caiman), these individuals pose very well for photos.
The forest of Manuel Antonio has different types of palms, starting with the coconuts on the beach and as we entered the forest we saw thin, thorny palms that are locally called “vizcoyol” and, in the interior, very large palms with even larger thorns coming from their bark called “Corozo.” Both species have edible fruit that are enjoyed by the animals; actually they both have a special relationship with the agoutis. The agoutis take the fruits and clean them, eating the pulp that covers the nut. Later on they dig a hole and save the nuts in the ground for further use; they always forget about 20% of the seeds they buried.
Even though the park is very popular among locals and international visitors, the protected area is relatively small, with just a couple of biological corridors. In general the animals have a high density, thus they interact with the travelers that come to enjoy the beach and the forest.
By late afternoon, while repositioning the ship toward Herradura Bay, we were having our group picture taken on the bow of the ship; suddenly three humpback whales appeared close to the ship, staying for at least 30 minutes. With their presence and a magical sunset we finished a great week together in Panama and Costa Rica.
