Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
The last day of our expedition through the wonders of Panama and Costa Rica, found us on a white sandy beach, framed with a lush tropical rain forest: Manuel Antonio national park. Located in the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica, along with the Osa Peninsula (previous destination) and the Nicoya Peninsula (northwest) formed the first Costa Rican lands, which rose from the ocean crust around 50 million years ago.
Manuel Antonio national park is one of the smallest in the country, nonetheless it is the one where spotting wildlife is the most rewarding. It does help win supporters of wildlife and conservation through the effortless enjoyment of the rainforest. Being among the most visited national parks, it helps support the conservation machinery and allows the system to set aside large extensions of pristine rainforests.
The park has become an island, its limits in the south are with the Pacific Ocean, and the other boundaries encounter countless oil palm plantations. There has been a major effort to establish a biological corridor on this area. For the pessimists it was considered a hopeless case. The National Park System and the local community have proven serious improvement. Although it is still a small preserve, the national park was doubled in size. The local farmers are reforesting the river sides. This biological corridor would connect it to a protected area that covers roughly one tenth of the country.
The endangered red back squirrel monkey finds a home here and it has been a wonderful flag of conservation. The community and the authorities have come to an important crossroad, and the question to be asked may seem discouraging, but the answer is in the hands of people. We are working very hard and that have proven that faith moves mountains, or at least can connect them with forest and improve the gene pool.
The last day of our expedition through the wonders of Panama and Costa Rica, found us on a white sandy beach, framed with a lush tropical rain forest: Manuel Antonio national park. Located in the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica, along with the Osa Peninsula (previous destination) and the Nicoya Peninsula (northwest) formed the first Costa Rican lands, which rose from the ocean crust around 50 million years ago.
Manuel Antonio national park is one of the smallest in the country, nonetheless it is the one where spotting wildlife is the most rewarding. It does help win supporters of wildlife and conservation through the effortless enjoyment of the rainforest. Being among the most visited national parks, it helps support the conservation machinery and allows the system to set aside large extensions of pristine rainforests.
The park has become an island, its limits in the south are with the Pacific Ocean, and the other boundaries encounter countless oil palm plantations. There has been a major effort to establish a biological corridor on this area. For the pessimists it was considered a hopeless case. The National Park System and the local community have proven serious improvement. Although it is still a small preserve, the national park was doubled in size. The local farmers are reforesting the river sides. This biological corridor would connect it to a protected area that covers roughly one tenth of the country.
The endangered red back squirrel monkey finds a home here and it has been a wonderful flag of conservation. The community and the authorities have come to an important crossroad, and the question to be asked may seem discouraging, but the answer is in the hands of people. We are working very hard and that have proven that faith moves mountains, or at least can connect them with forest and improve the gene pool.
