Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio is two first names.  Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio is a small National Park in  on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, just south of the city of Quepos.   Established in 1972 with a land area of about 3 square miles (the smallest of any Costa Rican national park), it is the destination of as many as 150,000 visitors annually and well known for its beautiful beaches and hiking trails.  In 2011, Manuel Antonio was listed by Forbes among the world’s 12 most beautiful national parks.

The diversity of wildlife is unequaled with 109 species of mammals and 184 species of birds.  Of special note are two varieties of sloth and three of monkeys.

Back to the two first names.  Nobody really knows who Manuel Antonio was.  The most likely, of the many outlandish stories, is that he was the caretaker of the beach near the park many years ago.  When the agricultural workers had a day off, they’d say “let’s go to Manuel Antonio’s” and set off for the beach.

One arrives at the park entrance after traveling through a maze of hotels, restaurants, and tourist traps.

It is not recommended to go without a guide, and we now understand why.  They are all constantly sharing animal sightings, and all have high powered scopes, so that we can actually see the animals.  It would frankly be a walk in the woods, (surrounded by hundreds of people), without the guides.  They would also take photos through the scopes  using people’s smartphones.

We were able to see sloths (both two and three-toed), bats, lizards, frogs, monkeys, and raccoons.  We ended up on the beach.  They claim it is the most beautiful in Central America.  We went to one today that we thought was nicer.

Ellen and Marlene had to dip their toes in the Pacific

Here are shots of critters we saw, both by me, and through the smartphones.  Click on any to see them in “slide show” mode: