Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Today we started our expedition between Costa Rica and Panama, and our first stop on the Costa Rican side was one of this country’s national forests known as Manuel Antonio National Park.
This protected area is considered by some to be one of the crown jewels of the national park system. This statement is made for several reasons, but among the strongest ones that come to my mind are: First, the scenery of this tropical forest, coming right down to end at a beautiful sandy beach, making this an incredible site where the forest meets the Pacific Ocean. Second, this is one of the smallest national parks in the country, too small for large animals, including big alpha predators, which usually keep under control the population growth of the medium-sized animals. Due to their absence, the medium-sized animals have gone into a demographic explosion, making this place one of the best to see monkeys, sloths, raccoons, and more.
And today we were able to observe this abundance within the first hour or so in the park, with several sightings of agouties, black iguanas, and three-toed sloths! By the time that I was on my way to the beach landing I had already seen three agouties, six sloths, including one with a baby, and one two-toed sloth. We also saw numerous groups of howler monkeys, some with babies and many white-throated capuchin monkeys, some of them a little too close!
Once at the landing area, what better way to cool off from the tropical humidity than with a nice swim at this beautiful sandy beach with the rolling of the Pacific Ocean waters.
