Read day 9 here.

This morning for whatever reason I’m awake at 4:30! It was still raining last night when I fell asleep but this morning it’s a beautiful bright day. It’s so relaxing to have plenty of time to get ready for the day and still have time to wander the hotel grounds before breakfast. As I make my way to the hotel dining area I run into a few of Pedro’s birders who tell me about this morning’s sightings. During breakfast we spot a large black iguana sunning himself on the patio just off the dining room. Of course, this is a great photo opportunity for those in the group that happen to have their cameras with them. After breakfast as we are leaving the dining room someone spots a group of about 30 spider monkeys that are jumping from tree to tree. I can’t believe the distances from branch to branch that these small monkeys are jumping! There are whole families including youngsters and it is amazing to see them up close. They don’t seem to be shy at all and they end up using the dining room roof as one of their jumping points so I am assuming they are used to seeing people.

After breakfast we are going to Manuel Antonio National Park and we will have the opportunity for a little beach time so everybody heads to their rooms to get ready. It takes about half an hour to get to the entrance to the national park. We walk along a wide trail made up of smooth rocks and sand. It’s about a half hour walk from the entrance to the beach area and Pedro is giving us info on this area’s flora and fauna as we walk along. We reach the beach and everybody heads for the cool blue water. Manuel Antonio is one of Costa Rica’s most popular national parks and I can see why. As I sit in the sand I hear the first line of a Zac Brown Band song in my head” I’ve got my toes in the water….” Everyone enjoys themselves and really appreciates the beach time. I actually take some time to walk along the beach to see if I can find anything unusual. I did bring my camera and I spot some limpets attached to the side of some large rocks so I get some photos of them. I even take a few pictures of my new friends and everybody has a great big smile! Too soon it’s time to leave the beach and we make the walk back the way we came in.

Once we get back to the hotel we have lunch. While we are having lunch we notice that there are people enjoying the zip line that is located just beyond the dining room. Since we have the whole afternoon to spend as we wish one of my fellow travelers decides that a zip line activity is just what the doctor ordered and since the hotel front desk could help arrange it off she went. The hotel has several trails that lead to an old plantation. One of the trails will take an hour and a half and the other will take about three hours and several in our group decide to explore those. Since it’s a hot sunny day some in our group decide to take a cool dip in the pool. About mid afternoon it starts to get cloudy and by 4:00 it’s raining. Even though it is rainy season and we have had rain throughout the program only in one instance have we had to reschedule an activity due to rain.

At 6:00 we have a squirrel monkey lecture that is given to us by Jesua who is a local guide at Manuel Antonio National Park. We learn about the two  types of endangered squirrel monkeys, the yellow backs and red backs that  are found only in the Manuel Antonio area of Costa Rica. We learn which monkeys are the smartest, the white faced monkeys – they actually teach each other. Did you know monkeys see the colors, red, blue, and green? I learn that bananas actually contain too much potassium for most monkeys, who knew?

After our lecture we meet in the dining room for dinner and then back to my room to repack. Tomorrow we’re off to San Gerardo de Dota and Savegre Lodge. Luggage outside the room at 8:00 tomorrow morning.

Day 11 >