Today we celebrated glorious Costa Rica! Some attended the easy stretch class, and we all toured with exceptionally talented guides on either the Sloth Valley or Cathedral Point Trail. Although Manuel Antonio is Costa Rica’s smallest park, covering an area of 6 square miles, it has remarkable biodiversity, wildlife and beaches. Lining the beaches is the manchineel tree (Hippomane manicinella) locally called manzanillo or ‘beach apple’. This evergreen species has a short trunk and bright green elliptical leaves but beware it is very toxic. The sap and bark inflame the skin, while the small yellow apple-like fruit are poisonous. We also saw the national tree of Panama, the panama tree (Sterculia apetala).
Upon entering the tree cover, an iguana greeted us but the real prize was seeing the many mammals. The brown throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) with its distinctive gray-and-white mask on its face was viewed elegantly through the Swarovski magnifying lens. The sloths hang motionless from branches or slowly progress upside down along a branch toward the leaves, which are their primary food. Most years the female has a baby which is carried on the mother’s chest for 5 ½ months. We laughed and scattered ourselves from the groups of white faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus), who with their prehensile tails, are able to pry into everything. We saw and heard the Mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliate) loud and clear. Their air is passed through a specialized hollow and much enlarged hyoid bone in the throat, providing a strange and resonant call. Other playful sightings were raccoons, agoutis (a type of rodent), seabirds, egrets, hummingbirds and the dazzling blue morpho butterfly
Our activities were chilling-out today with surf and sun and a merry piñata party on the aft deck followed by a delectable meal prepared by our galley and a talk on The History of Costa Rica: Tastes Like a Good Cup of Coffee! What a fantastic day!
