Manuel Antonio National Park
Today was an amazing combination of nature and relaxation. We awoke in a scenic bay inside Manuel Antonio National Park, with small rocky islands all around us. We got in the Zodiacs to go over to a nearby beach for an early morning nature walk. The naturalists lead us through the lowland tropical rain forest, where we saw beautiful overlooks of the rocky shoreline and dozens of tree species. Part of the trail took us along tide pools. However, the animals impressed us the most. We saw individuals of both the two-toed sloth and the three-toed sloth species high up in the forest canopy. There were orange crabs living in holes in the forest soil. Ctenosaur iguanas patrolled the beach area. Some of us saw the relatively rare squirrel monkeys high in the trees. Then, the white-faced capuchin monkeys arrived and stole the show. We all watched them as they jumped from tree to tree, hung upside down eating fruit, and groomed each other.
After breakfast, we went back to the gorgeous beach to enjoy a morning of beach activities. Most of us went swimming in the warm Pacific water, and many of the kids (both big and small) went body surfing in the crashing waves. Several of us relaxed in the shade of the tropical almond and coconut palm trees. A few kids tried their luck building sand castles against the rising tide. What a picture postcard perfect morning!
We spent the afternoon cruising north past the Gulf of Nocoya, with brown boobies flying past the ship. The kids took a ship tour and did some craft activities as part of the Family Program while the adults enjoyed the quiet time. After getting our snorkeling gear for the week, we watched naturalist Rafael Robles’ slide illustrated talk on the natural history of Costa Rica. Then, there was an awesome sunset, with the clouds turning orange and pink as darkness descended on the folks watching on the bow.
During recap, we learned about the Central American land bridge and the tropical tradewinds. After the delicious dinner of pork and red snapper, we retired to our rooms to contemplate the wonders of nature we saw today.
