Things to do in Manuel Antonio

Wandering through the rainforest trails of Manuel Antonio National Park, the calls of howler monkeys sounded like fruit tossed from the depths of the green curtain. Suddenly, a three-toed sloth yawned, clinging to a tree trunk; raindrops fell slowly from its eyelashes, as if time itself had been slowed down. While splashing in the waves at Espadilla Sur beach, white-faced capuchins secretly stole my sunscreen from behind—they perched on coconut palm branches, squeezing out a dollop of milky white paste and diligently applying it to their paws. At sunset, iguanas struck silhouettes of ancient warriors on the rocks, while violet frigatebirds cut the evening glow into courtship banners. As the rangers closed the suspension bridge, looking back, I saw fireflies lighting up one by one in the mangroves, like a star map left behind on earth.