Manuel Antonio
During the night, we sailed south from the Nicoya Peninsula and past the old banana-exporting town of Quepos, and dropped anchor in the bay just off Manuel Antonio National Park. This park is the smallest in Costa Rica’s extensive system of parks, but also by far the most popular. Manuel Antonio covers an area of just 6.8 square kilometres, which preserves several vital ecosystems, including an extensive tropical moist forest. This was our one chance to explore such an environment this week, as the forests we have encountered so far to the north west of Costa Rica, where the conditions are far drier, were dramatically different. The national park is home to a great variety of animal and bird species as well as the spectacular forests. Contained within the protected area are also beautiful sandy beaches, as well as the unique tombolo formation of Cathedral Point: a geophysical phenomenon where an island becomes joined to the mainland through accumulated sand deposits.
We started our nature walks bright and early, and were richly awarded with sightings of two sloth species, white-throated capuchins, agoutis, racoons, iguanas and even a fer-de-lance snake! Our younger guests then rolled around in the large surf created by the high tidal conditions resulting from this month’s blue moon.
We returned to the Sea Voyager for lunch, and afterwards had the option to either return to the park, visit the small coastal town, or sign up for an absolutely exhilarating experience – a canopy tour! This took part near neighbouring Quepos, and after an exciting wet landing on the Manuel Antonio beach and a short drive to the canopy tour, the adventure began. We got harnessed up, and found ourselves zipping above many of the rainforest trees, way up there in the canopy, and observing the forest from a completely different angle. Some of us even saw howler monkeys and a sloth from above! Our highest point during the tour was a spectacular 90 meters up, and the lines easily extended through two or three miles of forest – truly an unforgettable experience!
During the night, we sailed south from the Nicoya Peninsula and past the old banana-exporting town of Quepos, and dropped anchor in the bay just off Manuel Antonio National Park. This park is the smallest in Costa Rica’s extensive system of parks, but also by far the most popular. Manuel Antonio covers an area of just 6.8 square kilometres, which preserves several vital ecosystems, including an extensive tropical moist forest. This was our one chance to explore such an environment this week, as the forests we have encountered so far to the north west of Costa Rica, where the conditions are far drier, were dramatically different. The national park is home to a great variety of animal and bird species as well as the spectacular forests. Contained within the protected area are also beautiful sandy beaches, as well as the unique tombolo formation of Cathedral Point: a geophysical phenomenon where an island becomes joined to the mainland through accumulated sand deposits.
We started our nature walks bright and early, and were richly awarded with sightings of two sloth species, white-throated capuchins, agoutis, racoons, iguanas and even a fer-de-lance snake! Our younger guests then rolled around in the large surf created by the high tidal conditions resulting from this month’s blue moon.
We returned to the Sea Voyager for lunch, and afterwards had the option to either return to the park, visit the small coastal town, or sign up for an absolutely exhilarating experience – a canopy tour! This took part near neighbouring Quepos, and after an exciting wet landing on the Manuel Antonio beach and a short drive to the canopy tour, the adventure began. We got harnessed up, and found ourselves zipping above many of the rainforest trees, way up there in the canopy, and observing the forest from a completely different angle. Some of us even saw howler monkeys and a sloth from above! Our highest point during the tour was a spectacular 90 meters up, and the lines easily extended through two or three miles of forest – truly an unforgettable experience!
