The spectacular sunrise invited us to the ship’s deck at around 6:30 a.m. National Geographic Sea Lion was slowly arriving and anchoring at our destination for the day, beautiful Manuel Antonio National Park. In anticipation of a day filled with exciting wildlife and rainforest hikes, all were up and ready for breakfast a little earlier than usual. The hotel crew assembled a beautiful breakfast and went the extra lengths to make sure that everyone was satisfied and ready for their adventure in Costa Rica.
The various walks left the shoreline with naturalists from the park guiding, spotting elegant wildlife, and teaching about the tropical terrain. Animals such as two common types of slow moving sloths, a crab eating raccoon, white-faced capuchin and howler monkeys, common potoo bird, and a Central American whiptail lizard.
Everyone enjoyed a fantastic lunch back onboard and after a small siesta or deck lounging, some made their way back to the expedition landing crafts and landed on shore again for swimming and relaxing in the sunshine. The sun’s rays were soaked up and packing for home was eminent, so our small expedition landing crafts whisked us away back to the ship for light packing and a fabulous Captain’s dinner. The sunset was lovely to view from the deck with our unexpected visitor—a parasitic jaeger bird, taking a rest on deck. Just before dinner, we gathered in the lounge to view moments shared that were captured in photography slideshow. This highlighted the events and fun that we all shared over this holiday week. Another glorious day in Costa Rica!
