Manuel Antonio National Park and Agujitas River
A cool breeze welcomed National Geographic Sea Lion to her first destination of the trip. The sun was coming out when we dropped anchor in front of Costa Rica’s jewel park, Manuel Antonio National Park. A nice beach surrounded by a lush forest was soon revealed to us.
This park is one of the smallest parks in Costa Rica. Surrounded by a vast development, Manuel Antonio is the crowning glory of the area. Home to several troops of howler monkeys, white-faced capuchin monkeys, two species of sloths and many other species of flora and fauna, the park is also known for its gorgeous beaches.
We had the opportunity to land on one of its beaches and explore two trails before the park got crowded with other visitors. As soon as we started our hikes through the Sloth Valley Trail, the animals began to show up. The two species of sloth were spotted and many were females with babies.
We learned that due to the development surrounding the park, major predators such as jaguars and harpy eagles are not found within its boundaries. For this reason, the smaller mammals are easily spotted. On one hand, it is good for visitors since they can see them easily but on the other hand, the park has become an isolated forest landmass. There are combined efforts between the government and private institutions to create a biological corridor to allow the animals to move to other national parks. This will help the different species to not interbreed and assure their survival in the area.
After an outstanding morning of exploration, we returned to our ship and weighed anchor. We had to get to our next destination of the day, Agujitas River on the Osa Peninsula. On our way, several pods of pantropical spotted dolphins escorted our ship. After four hours, we finally arrived to Drake’s Bay, where the waters of the Agujitas River flow in.
We took the Zodiacs to cruise the mouth of the river. A dense forest was in front of us and several species of herons, shorebirds and flycatchers flew around us while we made our way to the river. The cicadas never stopped singing even though the sun was beginning to set. A troop of howler monkeys were having their late meal without being bothered by us.
As the sun began to set, we all gathered in the lounge for cocktail hour and shared our thoughts about our great experiences today in the tropical rain forest.
