Manuel Antonio National Park: Beach Day!

 Ms. Cuffee and Ms. Curran were kind enough to take over blogging duties this evening. Enjoy!

 One of several white-face monkeys we saw today

Today was a long, yet relaxing, day. We rose before the sun and departed around 7am for the beach. Upon arrival at Manuel Antonio National Park, we hiked to the sandy beach. The views, water, and wildlife were worth every second and step of the hot, humid, and hilly climb to the crystal clear blue water. Yesterday, when the tour guides explained that we would see dancing monkeys that would be interested in eating our food, we weren’t absolutely sold. Not only were there monkeys, but there were mischievous raccoons, darting schools of fish, and limber Cappuccino monkeys. The raccoons were sneaky and quite stealthy. Some of us fell victims to these grey creatures and lost a banana or two, a bag of chips, or a sandwich.

 

 The hot walk to the beach: worth it!

 

This sloth was one of the many interesting sights on the way to the beach

The water was a mixture of warm and cool and the sun played hide and seek among the clouds. It was PERFECT. Some students played chicken while others took selfies, buried each other in the sand, and admired the aforementioned animals. The four hours we spent at this luxurious location flew by and all 194 wrinkled hands and pruned feet filed out of the water while giving longing looks at the tempting tides. The trek back to the bus were filed with handfuls of “I want to go back” and “that was so awesome.” Many students used the bus ride back to the hotel to take a nap as thoughts of our impending lunch twinkled in their dreams.

The protected beach was a big hit!

Lunch, like all the other meals here, was fresh and delicious. Naps, showers, short walks on the beach, and pool-time directly followed lunch. Students enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening with some much deserved free-time and some even danced in the short down-pour of rain we experienced before dinner.

Students enjoy their free afternoon

Tonight, we have two guest posters who were kind enough to share some thoughts from the day:

The beach water was really clear. It was really pretty. Even though the waves weren’t that big. I still had a lot of fun getting splashed. We saw some raccoons and a white-faced monkey that was really cool.
-Jordyn Wade

The water was very salty. The sight was very pretty. It was a really fun experience because I got to hang out with a lot of different students on the trip. The ocean’s water was very deep. I even saw a raccoon steal a bag of chips!
-Gabriela Rivera