Manuel Antonio National Park
We had cruised through the night from Drake’s Bay. Very close to dawn the National Geographic Sea Lion dropped anchor in front of Costa Rica’s little jewel, Manuel Antonio National Park. This is one of the smallest parks that were established in 1972 with the idea to preserve the wildlife that it holds. With an extension of 683 hectares of tropical rain forest and lovely beaches, this is one of the most visited parks on holidays.
Right after breakfast we went ashore to explore the premises of the park. A lovely beach with white sand and warm waters greeted us as we landed. In the forest, we could hear several birds singing as if they knew that it was our last day of our expedition. It was spectacular scenery with natural sounds of ocean and wildlife.
Several options were offered. One was a hike to an island that was connected to mainland through what is known as a Geological “Tombolo”. It’s a hike through a trail in between a lush rain forest with a diversity of wildlife. Even though you are going up a hill, you get to a great view point where you can see the mighty ocean washing the shoreline of the town. The other option was an easier walk through a trail called “Sloth Valley”. This trail offers an easier walk also through the forest.
As we started walking the trails, the animals showed up, careless of our presence. Spiny tailed lizards bobbed their heads in a territorial display, while Jesus Christ lizards ran in front of them. Streaked flycatchers, summer tanagers, boat billed flycatchers, wood storks, slaty tailed trogons, and fiery billed aracari were some of the sighting to the delight of the birdwatchers. But the sighting of several species of small mammals in the park was the biggest highlight. Several three toed sloths just kept sleeping in the crutch of trees while white face capuchin monkeys passed playing around them.
The biggest highlight was the sighting of Mexican hairy porcupine also known as the prehensile-tailed porcupine. This solitary mammal usually emerges after dark to feed on seeds, fruits, leaves, flowers, and flower buds. It was of great joy to see this mammal scratching himself so close to our eyes.
At our return from the hikes, the warm clear waters of the beach invited us to take a refreshing dip. We found it so difficult to leave this small paradise. We all concluded that it had been a spectacular morning!
It was so hard to believe that seven days ago we had started our expedition to the wildest side of Panama and Costa Rica and now it had come to an end. What will stay in our mind is the experience shared closely with new friends with one goal in mind: “Help to preserve what we still enjoy of nature!”
