Manuel Antonio National Park
National Geographic Sea Lion sailed south through the night, and just before breakfast arrived in the waters off Manuel Antonio National Park, one of Costa Rica’s smallest and most heavily visited parks. We planned to spend the first day of our voyage exploring the tropical, moist forest and white sandy beaches of this vital preserve.
An early start gave us the park to ourselves for over an hour before the gates opened to the general public. Hikes took us along two trails… Cathedral Point Trail climbed up to beautiful look-out points along this unique tombolo formation, in which accumulated sand deposits joined what was once an island to the mainland. Sloth Valley Trail traversed sandy and packed dirt terrain, providing ideal habitat for its namesake sloths. We were treated to an abundance of wildlife! Two- and three-toed sloths, white-faced capuchin monkeys and howler monkeys, agoutis, raccoons, iguanas, Jesus Christ lizards. One of the major treats was the two-toed sloth literally hanging out at our beach station who woke up and began noshing on leaves for its late-morning meal. It is rare to see these creatures move at all, let alone spend the good portion of an hour eating, and in such close proximity to us – barely eight feet from the ground in plain sight!
After hikes in the hot and humid climate, many opted to take a dip in the exquisite waters off the beach. We remained anchored at Manuel Antonio for the rest of the afternoon… swimming, beach-combing, photo-walking, and general lounging about on the beach, soaking up sun and sand and good vibes. Once back on board, naturalist Adriana gave an introductory talk on Costa Rica’s forest ecosystem, and later we gathered in the lounge for cocktails and to recap our beautiful first day in Costa Rica. Rich coast indeed. Pura vida!
