After a very rainy night and navigating about 55 nautical miles, early this morning Captain Dion repositioned our vessel to the northernmost stop of our voyage, what Costa Ricans call the Central Pacific or “Pacifico Central,” right in front of Manuel Antonio National Park. This park is, if not the most visited, one of the most visited natural protected areas in the country. This is partly due to its easy access by of an almost brand-new highway, making Manuel Antonio a little over two hours from San Jose. The park is well-known for its wonderful white-sand beaches and several well marked walking trails.
Today our early morning started a little bit cloudy and as we disembarked on to the white-sand Espadilla Sur beach, raindrops began to fall. This did not stop us from wanting to walk and explore the main trails, Punta Catedral and Perezoso. The rain picked up and it started to pour, but as it goes in the tropics, it only lasted for fifteen minutes and suddenly the sun began to peek through the dark-green fronds of the Astrocaryum palms.
Those of us on the longer trail, Punta Catedral, ventured up the 65 steps that lead to the beginning of the loop path that would take us through a very healthy transitional forest. Those of us that joined the naturalists on the flatter trail, Perezoso, began their wildlife-oriented walk with a fantastic sighting: a two-toed sloth sleeping on a low branch just at the entrance of the trail. As sloths are easy “prey” for photographers we had a grand time “shooting” away at it. Later in the day quick sightings of mantled howler monkeys and incredible shots of white-throated capuchin monkeys, crab-eating raccoons, agoutis, coatis, ctenosaur lizards in their homes, yellow-headed caracaras, double-toothed kites, collared aracaris, and various others made our hike worthwhile.
But the stars of the day, as usual, were the white-throated capuchin monkeys. With no worries in the world but to find easy food, these animals know exactly where to find a quick snack. They have learned over the years that humans bring a large array of “goods” to the picnic area, and they will take advantage of a two-second distraction to snatch a slice of watermelon, a banana or even a bag of potato chips, to the surprise and annoyance of the inattentive visitor. The park has strict regulations about not feeding or interacting with the animals.
After our morning outings, we went back on board to enjoy an incredible lunch, rest from the sun a while and later we went to enjoy the beach for a second time. The tide was low and the water was warm and soothing. When the time came to go back on board, we were all content and ready to take a rest from the sun. We later began cruising towards our second dry landing of the trip, the pier at the Los Sueňos Marina in Herradura Bay.
