Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [310]
You’ll probably also hear mantled howler monkeys soon after sunrise and, like capuchins, they can be seen virtually anywhere inside the park and even along the road to Quepos – watch for them crossing the monkey bridges that were erected by several local conservation groups.
Agoutis and coatis can be seen darting across various paths, and both three-toed and two-toed sloths are also common in the park. Guides are extremely helpful in spotting sloths as they tend not to move around all that much.
However, the movements of the park’s star animal and Central America’s rarest primate, namely the Central American squirrel monkey, are far less predictable. These adorable monkeys are more retiring than capuchins, and though they are occasionally seen near the park entrance in the early morning, they usually melt into the forest well before opening time. With luck, however, a troop could be encountered during a morning’s walk, and they often reappear in beachside trees and on the fringes of Manuel Antonio village in the early evening.
Offshore, keep your eyes peeled for pantropical spotted and bottle-nosed dolphins, as well as humpback whales passing by on their regular migration routes. Other possibilities include orcas (killer whales), false killers and rough-toothed dolphins.
Big lizards are also something of a featured sighting at Manuel Antonio – it’s hard to miss the large ctenosaurs and green iguanas that bask along the beach at Playa Manuel Antonio and in the vegetation behind Playa Espadilla Sur. To spot the well-camouflaged basilisk, listen for the rustle of leaves along the edges of the trails, especially near the lagoon.
Manuel Antonio is not usually on the serious bird-watchers’ trail of Costa Rica, though the bird list is respectable nevertheless. The usual suspects include the blue-gray and palm tanagers, great-tailed grackles, bananaquits, blue dacnises and at least 15 different species of hummingbirds. Among the regional endemics you should look out for are the fiery-billed aracaris, black-hooded antshrikes, Baird’s trogons, black-bellied whistling-ducks, yellow-crowned night-herons, brown pelicans, magnificent frigate birds, brown boobies, spotted sandpipers, green herons and ringed kingfishers.
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Getting There & Away
The entrance and exit to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio lies in Manuel Antonio village – for more information, Click here.
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QUEPOS TO UVITA
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South of Quepos, the well-trodden central Pacific tourist trail slowly tapers off, though this certainly shouldn’t deter you from pushing on to lesser-known locales. In fact, this stretch of coastline is a great place to get a feel for the Costa Rica of yesteryear, and if you’re an intrepid traveler, you can have your pick of any number of deserted beaches and great surf spots. The region is also home to a great bulk of Costa Rica’s African palm oil industry, which should be immediately obvious after the few dozen kilometers of endless plantations lining the sides of the Costanera.
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RAFIKI SAFARI LODGE
Nestled into the rainforest, with a prime spot right next to the Río Savegre, the Rafiki Safari Lodge (2777-2250/5327; www.rafikisafari.com; s/d/ste incl all meals US$203/350/400, child under 5yr free; ) combines all the comforts of a hotel with the splendor of a jungle safari – all with a little bit of African flavor. The owners, who are from South Africa, have constructed nine luxury tents on stilts equipped with bathroom, hot water, private porch and electricity. All units are screened in, which allows you to see and hear the rainforest without actually having creepy-crawlies in your bed. There’s a spring-fed pool with a waterslide and ample opportunity