Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise off the bow of the ship, as National Geographic Sea Lion approached our anchorage. The sky was cloudless and the warm breeze welcomed those of us who rolled out our yoga mats on the sun deck for some early-morning stretching.
Manuel Antonio National Park is the smallest and most popular national park in Costa Rica and its beauty was readily apparent. A gorgeous white sandy beach lined by the dark green tropical rain forest awaited us.
After breakfast we grabbed our life jackets and sunscreen and made our way to the stern of the ship. We took Zodiacs to the shore and divided into groups to explore the park. A strenuous hike through the forest, with beautiful views of the ocean was chosen by some. They were rewarded with excellent sightings of howler monkeys and white-faced capuchins. Also spotted was the rarely seen fiery-billed aracari, one of the six kinds of toucans, and magnificent frigatebirds soared overhead.
The sloth valley walk was also taken by many eager guests. Our naturalists were superb at spotting what looked like furry balls up in the trees. We looked through scopes to get a close-up view of these two-toed sloths. We learned that they spend the majority of their lives up in the tree branches eating the leaves. They are originally from South America and are distant relatives of armadillos and anteaters.
Returning to the beach, we were lured into the warm, blue, Pacific Ocean and the salt water relaxed our bodies as we rode the gentle waves. Back on board a delicious taco lunch with all the trimmings was served.
Our afternoon presentation was on the history of Costa Rica. As we sailed south towards the wild Osa Peninsula we felt fortunate that our first day in Costa Rica was such a memorable one!
