Quepos, Costa Rica / Manuel Antonio National Park
Surprise, surprise! There was a sloth waiting for us at the beach! A two-toed sloth welcomed our expedition team as soon as we approached the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park. It was definitely exciting to find this incredible animal at such a close distance. As a matter of fact, National Geographic Sea Lion guests lived an extraordinary experience when we found the sloth right over the chairs at the “beach station.” The two-toed sloth is a semi-diurnal mammal that is normally found at the well-known beach almond tree. A lot of people believe this is the only type of a leaf they consume for survival but that is actually a myth. The sloth eats more than 40 different species of leaves from different trees.
Sea Lion woke up in the morning mist and slowly became part of the natural ambience. Some guests came with their fresh coffee to enjoy the gratifying sunrise magisterially offered by Mother Nature.
The first light of day was shyly coming through the windows in the Lounge, and everyone was excited to start an adventure in Costa Rica. Our efforts were not frustrated since, almost immediately, we were rewarded by a good number of critters that showed up before our own eyes. In addition to the sloth we found a howler monkey as well as many white-throated capuchin monkeys.
These monkeys were the main attraction at the park! They were jumping and playing all the time at the beach. Our photographers on board were delighted with the number of species we found not too far from our starting point. We offered a couple of trails while in Manuel Antonio; the “Sloth Valley Walk,” specially designed for whoever doesn’t feel like climbing too much, or the Cathedral Point, for those wanting to really stretch their legs!
Everyone came back content from their walks in Manuel Antonio, mainly because of our success in finding species in the rain forest. I must say, the great results we always obtain are mostly thanks to the local guides who accompany us here. Both Karen and Mop are young Costa Rican guides who truly believe in the same concepts Lindblad/National Geographic promotes for their expeditions.
All too soon, it was time to come back on board the ship. Great memories from Manuel Antonio will accompany our travelers during the rest of the journey!
