The National Geographic Sea Lion started our voyage with a beautiful sunrise traveling into the Manuel Antonio National Park. There were many yoga exercisers and people lining the deck eagerly awaiting the beach landing, forest hikes, and swimming in the ocean. The staff, officers, deck crew, and hotel crew organized for the day with smoothies, a wonderful breakfast spread, and by lowering the expedition landing crafts to get us all ready for the Costa Rican adventure of the day.
The local park naturalists led hikes with spotting scopes pointing out wildlife and sharing information about the tropical ecosystem. Some groups saw sloths, Central American agoutis, white-faced capuchin monkeys and the vocal howler monkeys. Also a beautiful chestnut backed ant bird. After the hikes, groups gathered on the beach for refreshments and swimming in the turquoise water and to play on the soft sandy beach.
Lunch onboard was reinvigorating and afterward, some made their way back to the expedition landing crafts and landed on shore again for swimming and relaxing in the sunshine. Just before dinner, we gathered in the lounge for our first recap of the day’s events and briefing on activity for the following day. The vibe of excitement carried through to dinner as people settled into the meal and prepared for another adventure tomorrow with a good night’s rest!
