Manuel Antonio National Park & Curu Wildlife Refuge
The first day of this adventure found us navigating south towards one of Costa Rica’s better known parks, Manuel Antonio National Park. We reached the Espadilla Sur beach at around 6:30 am and directly after breakfast we set off to our different walk options of the morning. While disembarking, we could not help notice the thick, lush vegetation draping over the rocky edge and the beach covered by crab footprints. The beauty of this place could only suggest a good omen. Our expectations were not only met, but definitively exceeded! We had white throated capuchin monkeys approaching us of their own free will! They were not more than two feet away from us, posing, even a mother with a four or five month old offspring stayed long enough for photos and memories. The list does not stop with capuchin monkeys! Crab eating raccoons, howler monkeys, coatis and agoutis were also part of the visual menu. A beautiful white sand beach waited for us at the end of our walks with warm and refreshing water.
Our ship was repositioned to the north where we anchored off of the dark sand beaches of Curu Wildlife Refuge. Established by the Schutt family, this refuge protects several types of habitats such as the seasonally dry forests and mangrove forests. Some of us took the long forest walk, but most went on the road trail. Reports mention many species of unique birds like the rufous naped wren, the white throated magpie jay, scarlet macaws, plus a good bonus of howler and capuchin monkeys.
We heaved the anchor at around 8 pm, ready to head down south to our next destination: Corcovado National Park and the Osa Peninsula. We can only hope that the rest of the trip be as full as the first day.
The first day of this adventure found us navigating south towards one of Costa Rica’s better known parks, Manuel Antonio National Park. We reached the Espadilla Sur beach at around 6:30 am and directly after breakfast we set off to our different walk options of the morning. While disembarking, we could not help notice the thick, lush vegetation draping over the rocky edge and the beach covered by crab footprints. The beauty of this place could only suggest a good omen. Our expectations were not only met, but definitively exceeded! We had white throated capuchin monkeys approaching us of their own free will! They were not more than two feet away from us, posing, even a mother with a four or five month old offspring stayed long enough for photos and memories. The list does not stop with capuchin monkeys! Crab eating raccoons, howler monkeys, coatis and agoutis were also part of the visual menu. A beautiful white sand beach waited for us at the end of our walks with warm and refreshing water.
Our ship was repositioned to the north where we anchored off of the dark sand beaches of Curu Wildlife Refuge. Established by the Schutt family, this refuge protects several types of habitats such as the seasonally dry forests and mangrove forests. Some of us took the long forest walk, but most went on the road trail. Reports mention many species of unique birds like the rufous naped wren, the white throated magpie jay, scarlet macaws, plus a good bonus of howler and capuchin monkeys.
We heaved the anchor at around 8 pm, ready to head down south to our next destination: Corcovado National Park and the Osa Peninsula. We can only hope that the rest of the trip be as full as the first day.
