travels with janne

Mother Nature is the true artist. We humans can only hope to emulate.

After having spent days upland and inland, away from the steamy lowland coast, what better way to enjoy a reunion with the ocean than to travel to the tiny but beautiful national park called Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast? The fun already starts at the bus stop where, as we wait for the bus to the national park, we see and hear howler monkeys raise a racket every time a vehicle brakes to slow down for the turn in the road.

Manuel Antonio National Park is a real jewel with wonderful sandy beaches and a backdrop of wild rain forest with lots of good hiking trails. Only a limited number of visitors are allowed into the park each day, so it is not overly crowded and, if you are willing to walk for a bit, you can easily get away from most of the other tourists and enjoy some solitude.

Walking slowly and ever so quietly, just two of us, we spot active and curious capuchin monkeys, slow-motion sloths, leathery iguanas, a long brown snake, colourful toucans, a busy raccoon, and a wide range of lizards rustling about in the fascinating plant life.

The walking is hot and hard work and seems like it is all uphill. Our reward at the end of the day is a refreshing swim in the ocean. Afterwards we bask on the beach in the company of iguanas that evoke thoughts of prehistoric dinosaurs.