Manuel Antonio National Park is considered one of the most beautiful protected areas in Costa Rica, with its combination of wildlife and white sand beaches. This park has four trails to explore: Catedral Point, Mirador, Sloth Valley and Puerto Escondido.
During the morning we had the opportunity to choose a guided hike through the Catedral Point (long walk) and Sloth Valley (short and flat walk) to explore the biodiversity of the park. The walk started at the beach with a brief introduction about the park and the flora and fauna that we may see during our walk. Some animals and plants were easy to find and identify, such as the sloth, spiny-tailed iguana, capuchin monkey, coconut palms and also the manchineel, a kind of tree that is poisonous even if you are just under its shadow. Some others were harder to identify, but not impossible, like the squirrel monkey, an endemic and threatened species of moneky in Costa Rica.
Right before getting back on board, a park ranger pointed out the presence of a crocodile close to the beach and they quickly closed the beach for swimming. We were planning to go back to the beach after lunch but because of the crocodile, that appeared sometimes very close to our ship, our captain decided to change the plan and look for whales and dolphins in the area. Not much time passed before we found a pair of humpbacks; a mother and calf. The calf was giving us a big show; breaching, slapping and rolling many times. Thanks to the crocodile we had this amazing time!
To finish our day we watched a beautiful sunset with a great green flash. What a wonderful last day of our trip!
