Manuel Antonio Weekend Trip

Manuel Antonio National Park

By Jessica

Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica. It is packed with wildlife and gorgeous beaches. Fortunately, our group was able to spend the weekend here. Being our first weekend in Costa Rica, we were pumped to visit Manuel Antonio and take a break from classes. Whether we wanted to lie on the beach, play in the water, or hike the trails, Manuel Antonio had it all.

The first bit of adventure was on the way to our destination. We stopped and walked out onto the bridge that overlooks the Tárcoles River. From a vehicle, this would appear like any other bridge. However, peering over the bridge allowed us to spot many American crocodiles. We spotted three on one side of the bridge. We were all oohing and ahhing over those three when someone decided to cross and look over the other side. This was a great idea because on that side there were about twelve crocodiles all in one spot. It was awesome. I have seen the same type of crocs in the zoo but, this doesn’t even compare! At the same bridge, our guide pointed out that there were eight couples of scarlet macaws flying over us. He also informed us that it was rare to see that many macaws at once. So during our first wildlife sighting we saw about fifteen crocs and sixteen macaws. I was astonished because we hadn’t even arrived at our destination yet.

Later, we arrived at our cozy hotel to relax and wait for the exciting day ahead of us. The next morning during breakfast, we ate traditional gallo pinto and watched monkeys play in the trees next to us. Right after breakfast, we departed for Manuel Antonio National Park. Not long after we had left, we pulled over once again for some wildlife spotting. This time it was a very rare sighting of squirrel monkeys. In all the books I read about Costa Rica, squirrel monkeys are not usually easy to spot. We were very lucky to have seen them.

Eventually we arrived at the Manuel Antonio National Park. From the entrance to the beaches, there was a thirty minute walk through the rainforest. The trail was wide and open for the viewing of many creatures. This is the part on the park I had been waiting for because I have always loved the idea of walking through the rainforest. During the walk, we saw lizards, insects, an owl, a snake, many small crabs, and some three-toed sloths. Once again we were amazed and the viewing was awesome. My day was already wonderful and it was only the morning. After that we headed toward the beach. We decided to check out the gray sand beach first. It was beautiful. There were little sand crabs and huge iguanas chilling everywhere on the beach. Many of the group members headed toward the water. I still wanted to see some creatures so I headed for the rocky edges surrounding the beach. On the rocks, I saw many snails and several crabs. These crabs were different near the water though. The other crabs brightly colored and were nestled into little dirt holes throughout the forest. These crabs were a dark color and were sort of sun bathing on flat rocks. The span of wildlife is still blowing my mind.

I swam for a bit after this but I still could not keep my mind of the forest that was around me. I wasn’t in the water long before I headed out the other beaches to see what I could spot on the way. I went to the white sand beach and saw a deer eating on a plant. That was really interesting because it wasn’t even afraid of the people. I swam on the other beach for a minute before heading down a trail. On the way toward the trail, I saw about four howler monkeys just hanging out in the trees. I also saw some more sloths. Then I headed out into the forest. This was very peaceful and a little bit indescribable. There was just something amazing about walking in the rainforest alone with the plants and animals surrounding me. During my walk I saw more lizards and iguanas. I was really hoping to see some more monkeys. Then my wishes were granted when I walked up on a whole family of White-Faced Monkeys. I was very close to this family. The children were running around and jumping on each other. The parent was sitting on a log picking for bugs on some of the other smaller monkeys. I must have watched this family for twenty minutes. It was wonderful. When I returned from the trail, it was time to leave. I am very pleased with the visit. I loved the entire day.

---

---

---