It is our last day onboard the National Geographic Sea Lion and after cruising overnight from Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica we arrived at the central pacific coast of the country to explore Manuel Antonio National Park, well known as one of the best places to see monkeys and sloths.
The reason this is a great place to see wildlife is because is a very small forest. From the prospective of an animal, the place has become a small island surrounded by human developed land, farms, hotels, roads, etc.
The place is small enough that with the absence of big wild animals like jaguars, harpy eagles, pumas, tapirs and the like – including the big alpha predators – the medium sized animals go into a demographic explosion, making this place one of the best locations in the country to see monkeys, sloths, raccoons, agoutis and more.
The park opens at 7:00 a.m. and we were the very first visitors to go into its forest to look for wildlife. All I can say is that today Manuel Antonio lived up to its reputation and even threw in some bonuses! In the different hikes we spotted howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, three toed sloth (one with a baby), two toed sloth, black iguanas, agouties, and even a big American crocodile!
After our walks in this tropical forest, we returned happy and sweaty to the beach landing. It was the perfect time for a nice cooling swim in the waters of the Pacific one last time before going back onboard for lunch.
After lunch we returned back to the park for some more swimming and walking the trails at our own pace so we could take the time to absorb the beauty of this place.
