Manuel Antonio

Look at the the title picture above and you see three beaches. These are located at Manuel Antonio one of Costa Rica's many national parks. The second one with the boats in the bay is the one where we spent our Friday afternoon.

We left around six in the morning and stopped for a hearty breakfast of some very tasty gallo pinto y huevos around eight. Later we made our second stop of the day at Rio Tarcoles, which is actually a problematic place for Costa Rica due to the pollution and booming population of alligators there. We didn't actually head into the national park where the alligator problem is a little worse but our stop at the one of the bridges crossing the river gave us feel for what it is like.

An hour or so past Rio Tarcoles we came to Manuel Antonio. We began our day there by going on a hike up to Punta Catedral where we had some great views of the beautiful white beaches. We also came upon a family of Howler Monkeys. Though they were very far away and nearly out of our sight, their deep, resonating calls made them feel closer than they actually were.

After our hike, with our shirts soaked in sweat, we made our way down to the beaches. There we bathed in the salty Pacific Ocean that was so warm it almost wasn't refreshing, but we scrubbed ourselves with the salt water anyway. We passed time in the shade of the trees that came right up to the sand and explored the black, basalt rock outcroppings and their tide pools. Just before we were about to leave a wave of White Faced Monkeys invaded the beach stealing beach goer's snacks straight out of their hands. I had the pleasure of shaking hands with one of the Monkeys, but I think he was disappointed because I didn't give him any food.

Later in the afternoon we left the park in order to grab some lunch. On our way out we were fortunate enough to encounter some Squirrel Monkey's looming around the gateway into the park. Manuel Antonio, while teeming with tourists, is full of wildlife and has some of Costa Rica's most beautiful beaches. According to our program director Don Jorge, though the park maybe small it is one of Costa Rica' s most beautiful destinations.