Manuel Antonio National Park
Today we are in Manuel Antonio National Park – this park is special. It is amongst those places in the country where the forest comes down to the water’s edge, allowing bathers to enjoy the lush view and even spot one or two monkeys from the water. The park, which covers around 3600 acres, has a dry season that goes from December to March, which marks the color and architecture of the forest with leafless trees. It encompasses not only forests with excellent trails for hiking and wildlife sightings, but also beautiful sandy beaches, marshes, a mangrove swamp, lagoons and woodland. In spite of its relatively small size, the park offers an incredible array of activities that keeps the explorer busy and entertained with whatever might be his or her preference.
We chose to do it all; we disembarked early onto the white sand beach of Espadilla Sur and divided in two hiking groups: the long Cathedral Point trail, for some exercise and the more benevolent Sloth Valley Trail, with more of an emphasis on spotting wildlife. Our efforts were rewarded with incredible sightings of howler monkeys leaping right above our heads, Central American agoutis gnawing on Bactix seeds, ctenosaurs munching on Gliricidia pink flowers, Aztec ants inside Cecropia trees, crab-eating raccoons stealing our neighbors’ lunch and many more; but without a doubt the stars of the day were the white-throated capuchin monkeys.
These animals live in groups of up to 30 individuals and though they are omnivorous their diet is made up mostly of insects and fruit. They will eat other flower parts such as bromeliad stems and make snacks out of small animals such as lizards, bats, bird chicks and even a newborn squirrel. The social organization of capuchins has been studied by many scientists in Costa Rica; in this species females stay inside their natal group and males migrate. Species that exhibit this pattern of behavior have a very important female-bonded structure and this creates interesting and intricate social interactions.
Today we were privileged to see these interactions up-close and personal. We met a large group foraging at ground level; they were jumping and playing and making a lot of noise, particularly the juveniles made happy playful squeals. Great photo opportunities and an incredible lifetime experience was the gift these monkeys gave us for the last day of our trip.
