Manuel Antonio National Park & Agujitas River
We began our trip with one of the Costa Rican highlights: Manuel Antonio National Park. This park was established in 1972 at a time when it was proposed for massive tourist development. Today the park protects a small but beautiful remnant of the tropical rain forest that once covered the region, as well as some sandy beaches and rocky headlands that support a wide variety of marine life. Taking into consideration that Manuel Antonio is one of the smallest parks in the system, it has a long list of species living in it: 353 species of birds, 99 species of mammals, 138 species of trees and much more.
The park did not let us down, two species of sloths, two-toed and three-toed, three species of monkeys, capuchin, squirrel and howler, agoutis, ctenosaurs, basilisk lizards, aracaris, parakeets, yellow headed caracaras, were spotted while taking the long or shorter walks. We came back to the beach to take a well-deserved dip in the warm Pacific waters, and back we went to the ship.
We had to reposition the ship to our destination for tomorrow and this afternoon, the Osa Peninsula. The southernmost peninsula in the country, this area contains Corcovado National Park, which is one of the most interesting in the system. The forests within this region are considered to be the most species-rich in Central America. One can find more than 500 species of trees in the 41, 000 hectares that comprise the park’s surface area. The insect species are even more amazing, there are about 6,000 described species and this number is expected to reach over 10,000 in the next years of further study. Birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians tell a similar story, there may be more within these untouched forests.
This afternoon we got the chance to explore it in a very unique way, by Zodiac. During the late afternoon hours, we took our reliable vessels into the narrow, but densely forested Agujitas River to get the feel of the wild. We were rewarded with sightings of American crocodile, little blue and tiger herons, kingfishers, wrens, and a beautiful pristine river that encompasses all that the rain forest is about.
Tomorrow will find us here again, and we can only hope that the southern Pacific Costa Rican coasts and forest treat us as well as Manuel Antonio National Park and the Agujitas River did.
