Manuel Antonio National Park and Curu Biological Reserve
It is sad to know that today is our last day – but we plan to make the best out of it! We woke up for an early breakfast so we could be the first in entering the Manuel Antonio National Park. This park offers the opportunity to find good numbers of wildlife as well as enjoying a relaxing swim on white sandy beaches. Luck was with us this morning as we ran into three toe sloths, white-throated capuchin monkeys, and a white noose coati – all at the same time! As we kept on walking in the park we continued to find more sloths, birds and other animals. After walking some distance more, some of us decided to make our way back to the beach to relax and swim in the warm, tropical water. By the time we left on the last Zodiac, the locals and visitors were getting more numerous in the public areas ready to enjoy the beach.
As we departed Manuel Antonio National Park for the Gulf of Nicoya we had great sightings of humpback whales and spotted dolphins. Upon arrival to Curu we discovered that, like at Manuel Antonio, we were in a wildlife paradise. Some of the wildlife in Curu is the result of successful reintroduction programs. During our walks here, we had close views of howler monkeys (today’s photo), capuchin monkeys, white nosed coatis, scarlet macaws and many, many other birds.
The most important thing we needed to experience here was a new ecosystem. After all the topical rain forest that we had already visited during this voyage, here we visited a tropical dry forest. It was hard to understand that here, only a little way from all that lush rainforest, exits a totally different ecosystem. And this was expressed in the great biodiversity that we encountered. It was a fitting end to an amazing week sailing from Panama to Costa Rica. Pura Vida!
It is sad to know that today is our last day – but we plan to make the best out of it! We woke up for an early breakfast so we could be the first in entering the Manuel Antonio National Park. This park offers the opportunity to find good numbers of wildlife as well as enjoying a relaxing swim on white sandy beaches. Luck was with us this morning as we ran into three toe sloths, white-throated capuchin monkeys, and a white noose coati – all at the same time! As we kept on walking in the park we continued to find more sloths, birds and other animals. After walking some distance more, some of us decided to make our way back to the beach to relax and swim in the warm, tropical water. By the time we left on the last Zodiac, the locals and visitors were getting more numerous in the public areas ready to enjoy the beach.
As we departed Manuel Antonio National Park for the Gulf of Nicoya we had great sightings of humpback whales and spotted dolphins. Upon arrival to Curu we discovered that, like at Manuel Antonio, we were in a wildlife paradise. Some of the wildlife in Curu is the result of successful reintroduction programs. During our walks here, we had close views of howler monkeys (today’s photo), capuchin monkeys, white nosed coatis, scarlet macaws and many, many other birds.
The most important thing we needed to experience here was a new ecosystem. After all the topical rain forest that we had already visited during this voyage, here we visited a tropical dry forest. It was hard to understand that here, only a little way from all that lush rainforest, exits a totally different ecosystem. And this was expressed in the great biodiversity that we encountered. It was a fitting end to an amazing week sailing from Panama to Costa Rica. Pura Vida!
