Our gamble paid off as we had the whole dorm to ourselves during the night. We woke up this morning ready to take on ‘Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio‘. We loaded up on water for the day and headed into the park. We went into the park around 8:00am (the park opens at 7:00am) and we were visitors number 6 & 7!
Whilst we were walking up the main trail we immediately came across a little deer that was not very shy at all!
Further down the path a white-headed capuchin monkey was obviously not having a great day.
Then we continued down another trail which lead us through the deep forest. We had seen the turkey vulture before, but never from this close!
From the Mirador we could see the islands in the Pacific Ocean – and in front of them we saw something that could be a dolphin, a shark or a small whale! It is the migrating season for whales and they can be spotted amongst these shores so we are going to go with ‘whale’ this time!
When we walked back we walked along the beach where we could see a hermit crab. If you made too much noise they would crawl back into their shell.
With a little help from (other people’s) guides we found the brown-throated three-toed sloth! This animal sleeps for up to 18 hours a day! Look closely at the picture to spot the furry thing hanging upside down.
We spotted two juvenile bright green iguanas hanging out in the shrubbery.
Walking back to the exit we saw this American white ibis taking a bath in the river.
Patrick was also almost hit on the head by this funny looking insect.
Next to all the wildlife, there is an abundance of plants and trees!
We probably did not get all the names of the animals correct – but believe us it was an impressive gathering!
After the visit to the park, we went for late breakfast at another hostel, ‘Costa Linda‘, where we were served delicious pineapple, papaya, watermelon, pancakes, bread, pinto (rice with beans), bacon and eggs, coffee and tea all for the price of only 2000 colones each (about € 3,5). The electricity in the street was down but thankfully they have a gas stove!
Patrick took another dive in the swimming pool before we drove off towards Uvita. Although Manuel Antonio is really beautiful and unique it is packed with tourists. When we left the park around 11:00am, there were groups of 15-20 people every 100m on the trail. It’s been really hot and humid all day and we may have set a record for the most sweat in a day!
We are camping at the ‘Flutterby House‘ tonight, just 200m from the beach. We went for a bit of grocery shopping (more water!) and then went to the beach to spot the crabs digging holes.
Tomorrow we have another day in Costa Rica before we cross the border to Panama on Friday!
I’ve got this to say to you
Girl I want to make you sweat
Sweat ’till you can’t sweat no more
Keep Calm and Drive South 
Mooie foto van onze ontdekkingsreizigers 🙂 looking great, ‘t is daar precies wel allemaal heel erg de moeite. Enjoy!!!