We headed downstairs at 7:45 for breakfast. Today there were wonderful pancakes and eggs made to order, of course the fabulous fresh fruit was there too! We all had a hearty breakfast because we knew we'd have a busy day and our lunch would be late. At the end of breakfast we had a visitor, a White Faced Capuchin decided to come exploring near the pool at the hotel. We checked him out and then headed out to the street to wait for Juan. Juan had warned me the day before to be careful while we waited, not for our safety but he said some unscrupulous guide might try to convince us that he wasn't coming and try to take us instead. The tour business is very competitive here. We waited until about 8:40 and a man approached and asked if we were waiting for a guide. At first I said no but then I told him maybe. He looked at me like I'd lost my mind, he then told me that he worked for Juan and that Juan would be along in a few more minutes. At about 8:45 Juan arrived with another family, the O'Brien family from Georgia joined us on the tour. They were a family of 5 so we had 11 people all together. They were very nice people and great to tour with.
We headed into the park to start the tour. Manuel Antonio is a very popular park, there is a lot of wildlife but there is also a ton of people! If you want to see animals without a lot of people around it isn't going to happen here. That being said, I'd still highly recommend a visit. The trails are easy and the park is beautiful. I would also highly recommend hiring a guide, they see so much that we would never spot. Juan also had a high powered scope that he would set up so that everyone in the group could see what he spotted, another really cool thing is that he'd use your digital camera with the scope to take pictures (you'll have to wait to see those until we get home because they were on my dad's camera and I'm posting from an iPad).
Just like yesterday, Juan was awesome. He knows so much about the different plants and animals. The wildlife in Manuel Antonio didn't disappoint, we saw spiders, 6 sloths ( some two toed and some three toed), a helmeted lizard, a green tree frog, a tiny grasshopper, walking sticks, black iguanas, 3 different types of monkeys, raccoons, and a tree boa. Not bad for one morning!
I was really excited to see the sloths, they were surprisingly active today. They move very slowly but they were definitely active today. We saw two-toed sloths and three-toed sloths. We learned that sloths come down from the tree tops about once a week to poop and then they head back up into the tree. Sloths are more vulnerable to predators when they are down on the forest floor so they take care of business pretty quickly.
We saw three species of monkeys, Howler Monkeys, White Faced Capuchins, and Squirrel Monkeys. We just saw one Howler Monkey but saw a lot of White Faced Capuchins. The White Faced guys seem the most daring and they are crafty little guys, if you are at the beach in the park you need to watch your bags carefully. If you come back and something is missing it is likely that either a monkey or a raccoon snatched your stuff!
Manuel Antonio National Park has several beaches inside. Before our trip I read that the beaches were beautiful but I thought it was doubtful that they'd be anything like the beaches in Hawaii. Boy was I surprised when we emerged from the rainforest to see one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen! It was take your breath away gorgeous! We stopped at some tables near the beach and Juan cute a Pineapple he had in his pack, he also had brought along cookies and juice. It was the perfect snack! After the snack we continued on to another beach and spotted more Squirrel Monkeys along the way. We also saw a family of bats through the scope.
At the end of the tour we decided to stay at the beach, the kids were dying to go jump in the waves. We stayed at the 2nd beach which didn't seem as popular. Juan had already warned us about a toxic tree that grows at the edge of the beach. Apparently if you touch it you end up with a bad rash! We were careful when we walked near those.
The waves were pretty big, but Dan and the kids went in anyway. My poor mom about had a heart attack watching them, for someone who grew up within 100 miles of a beach she sure is scared of the ocean! Dan and the kids played for about an hour and then we headed back to the hotel. Just as we were leaving we saw a raccoon steal a bag from a couple laying on the beach not 25 yards from us. They were laying with their backpacks under their heads as pillows. The raccoon came up behind them grabbed a plastic bag that was sticking out of the backpack and ran! It was so crazy. Ali kept saying the raccoons were cute, I told her that the monkeys were cute but the raccoons were just yucky!
Here is a quick picture of my kids with Juan at the end of the tour. I highly recommend Juan as a tour guide if you are in the area. He is very knowledgeable and he keeps you entertained! I'm so happy that we booked with him!
Getting back to the hotel was interesting, we decided to go out the exit that is near the public beach. Well we walked out and saw boats waiting to ferry you across a small waterway. Hmm, we decided to take the rocky path above and then wade through the smallest part of the waterway, it was probably only a foot or so deep. At high tide I think you'd probably have to take a boat. This was a little adventure that we weren't quite prepared for but hey, this is the real thing so you've just got to go with the flow! We headed back to the hotel and met up with my parents who had stopped across the street at Parque Sushi to pick up a little lunch.
Of course when we got back to the hotel the kids wanted to swim! I sat down at the pool with them while they swam, Dan joined us after a bit. We chatted with a couple visiting from Canada. The pool area is pretty small but it is a nice place to chat with the other guests. If you really like your privacy then La Posada might not be the best place for you to stay. The rooms are nice and private but the hotel is very small and you see the other guests a lot at breakfast, the pool, in the commons area. We love it and think it is a super friendly environment. The couple from Canada went on a Catamaran tour today, we've decided to put that on our list for the next visit.
We all rested back in the room this afternoon, everyone was tired from the heat and the walking. We ordered a pizza from Os downstairs in the kitchen and it was done in about 30 minutes, the pizza was great and a good bargain at $10. After we ate I know Dan took a nap, I'm not sure if anyone else actually slept. There was a knock on our door and the kids answered, it was one of the ladies who works here cleaning rooms. She came to tell the kids that the deer that frequents the hotel was wandering through the property. The kids ran downstairs to see her, she is totally tame. The kids were excited! So in one day we saw a Capuchin, a deer, and of course the adorable dog Blanquita right here at our little hotel. Very cool for sure!
The pictures I'm posting today are from my iPhone, I'll post better pictures when I get back home and get the ones of my dad's camera.
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