As I sit on our balcony drinking coffee and enjoying the view of both the ocean and the jungle (including monkeys), I have decided to post a few reflections about yesterday’s visit to Manuel Antonio National Park and night walk through the hotel garden. I will start by simply saying the park exceeded my expectations. While I expected to see some animals, the wildlife in the park is so abundant we saw something practically around every corner. On a side note, we randomly ran into another Academic Decathlon coach who also teaches in Katy at the entrance to the park; it’s a small world. This was an amazing start to an amazing day. Immediately after entering the park, we spotted bats hanging under a leaf and a two-toed sloth. We would then spot one animal after another: a three-toed sloth, a hummingbird, several species of lizards, an anteater (this was the most unexpected), poison-dart frogs, squirrel monkeys, white-faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, leaf-cutter ants. Seeing the biodiversity of Costa Rica first hand is an experience I will never forget. In addition to the wildlife adventures, the park has an incredible beach where we enjoyed a refreshing swim after a hike through the jungle. The only downside to the day was the walk back along the beach to our hotel in the heat of the day. Not because it wasn’t beautiful, but it was brutally hot with very little shade. I know - sucks to be us.
After enjoying an amazing lunch (ceviche, followed by mahi-mahi) on the beach, we continued our adventures by signing up for a night walk through the hotel gardens. This is an experience I highly recommend. Our guide was amazing and was able to spot some of the more elusive critters that only come out at night. We ended our day with an amazing dinner at the hotel restaurant.
And now pictures...
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