Manuel Antonio

El Parque Manuel Antonio ... L'incontournable - The inescapable

Le parc National Manuel Antonio est le plus petit des parcs nationaux costaricain mais, c'est aussi le plus achalandé! Un parc de plages et de forêts en bord de mer. Un de mes préférés! La minuscule plage de sable blanc m'a charmé dès ma première visite en 1998. 

Manuel Antonio offre la possibilité d'observer plusieurs des animaux emblématiques du pays tel que les singes à face blanches (capucins), les singes hurleurs, les singes écureuils, les paresseux et plusieurs espèces d'oiseaux. Les paysages y sont magnifiques!

Manuel Antonio National Park is the smallest of all the costarican national parks but it's the busiest. It's a park dedicated to beaches and sea side forest. It's one of my favorites! I was charmed by the tiny white sand beach the first time I set foot on it, back in 1998.

In Manuel Antonio we can see some of the trademarks animals of the country like the withe face monkey, the howler monkey,, the squirel monkey, the sloth and a large variety of birds. The landscapes are amazing!

Auto portrait, plage Blanche Maunel Antonio CR
Selfy, White Beach Manuel Antonio Beach CR

Photo : Christine P.

Photo : Amp

Photo : Amp
Orchidée - Orchid

Photo : Amp
Palmier ... Pejibaye Palm (Bactris gasipaes)

Photo : Christine P.
Singe hurleur - Howler monkey - Mono congo

Photo : Christine P.
Singe hurleur mâle - Male howler monkey - Mono congo macho

Photo : Christine P.
Singes capucins - White face monkeys - Monos cara blanca

Photo : Amp
No alimente los animales - Don't feed the animals - Ne pas nourrir les animaux

Photo Amp

Photo : Amp
Un iguane ou un ctenosaura?  An iguana or a ctenosaura?

Ctenosaur

Reference : http://www.travelcostarica.nu/reptiles

First time visitors to Costa Rica might confound Ctenosaurs with Green Iguanas, as they are difficult to distinguish. Ctenosaurs, however lack the peculiar head spines and crest (but they do have spines on their back) and are of darker colours. The ctenosaurs’ habitat are dry areas. Like green iguanas, they are mainly herbivores (but they do feed on occasional lizards or small mammals). They are of similar length (up to over 1 m incl. tail) but more active than green iguanas and hence better hunters.

Interesting Facts:

With a speed of 35 km/h the Costa Rican “ctenosaura similis” actually attained the local sprint record.         

Photo : Christine P.
Singe écureuil - Squirel monkey - Mono titi

Photo : Christine P.
Singe écureuil - Squirel monkey - Mono titi

Photo : Christine P.
Singe écureuil - Squirel monkey - Mono titi

Photo : Christine P.
Singe écureuil - Squirel monkey - Mono titi

Photo : Christine P.
Paresseux à deux doigts - Two toed sloths - Perezosos a dos dedos

Après une journée à profiter des attraits du parc, nous nous sommes retrouvés au restaurant Balu, un endroit rustique très typique! Une bonne bouffe en regardant le coucher de soleil.

After a full day spent enjoying the park, we ended up at the Balu retaurant, a very rustic and typical place. We had a good meal looking at the sunset.

Balu, restaurant tipique - Balu, tipical Restaurant

Coucher de soleil à Manuel Antonio - Sunset in Manuel Antonio