Today we woke up to the permanent swells of the Pacific Ocean just outside of the small bay within Manuel Antonio National Park. As one of the most-visited parks in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio fulfills everyone’s expectation of a tropical rain forest, where medium-sized mammals such as monkeys, sloths, raccoons and agoutis thrive. This park is small compared to others we have visited, and as such, does not provide enough territory for large predators, so as the saying goes, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.” In the absence of predators these animals that would normally have a controlled population, flourish and boom, producing a haven for all, including travelers, nationals, photographers, and nature lovers.
This morning we split into two interest groups; the first for those of us who wanted to take a last long walk through the rain forest, enjoy the complicated interactions between flora and fauna and talk some more about how this ecosystem works. We took our time for a last glimpse at the dark understory and tall, giant crowned trees such as a stinking-toe tree, a massive fig tree, several trees in the trumpet tree family and finally, at the end of the long hike, the incredible hardwood legume tree called the raintree.
The second choice was to take a more leisurely walk along a trail called “The Sloth Valley Trail.” It’s named thus, not to compare it to the people who choose to take it, but because there are high chances of spotting the two species of sloth that dwell in Costa Rica. This trail offers a more even terrain which enables us to look for wildlife instead of having to look down all the time to check our footing.
Whatever choice we picked we were very well remunerated; amongst today’s long observation list, we can count various groups of white-throated capuchin monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, Central American squirrel monkeys, Central American agoutis, two-toed sloths, three-toed sloths, a family of crab-eating raccoons, ctenosaurs, basilisk lizards, green vine snakes, red-eyed tree frogs and many species of birds. We came back on board, with our wildlife wishes fully accomplished, for a wonderful taco bar lunch prepared by our galley.
Many of us decided to go back to the beach after lunch; the dark gray clouds of a nearby storm, provided the perfect temperature for a calm, relaxed afternoon and the perfect closure of the last voyage of the season in warm Costa Rica and Panama.
