Sail away with the Star Clipper and Quepos with Manuel Antonio National Park

In the evening we set sail from Puerto Caldera on the Star Clipper, a four-master with white sails.

The next day we docked in Quepos, where we had booked the excursion to Manuel Antonio National Park.

The number of visitors to the national park is limited, but because we booked the trip well in advance, we were one of the 24 lucky people who were allowed to go there.

Two guides led our group through the park and we saw some wildlife:

Along the way we encountered several sloths, both two-toed and three-toed.

A particular highlight was a female who sat in the tree with a young animal and even moved because the little one became restless and woke up the mother.

We also encountered some lizards on and off the trail, including a young iguana.

A lizard was sitting on the path and I was just able to get out of the way in time to avoid stepping on it.

Our guide discovered a bat that was sleeping under a leaf.

A red-eyed tree frog was also sitting well camouflaged on a green leaf. He does have red eyes, but they were currently closed because he was sleeping.

On the way we also passed a beach that was used by many visitors for swimming.

Some of our group also cooled off in the sea, but we preferred to use the time to look for animals.

On the way back we passed the beach.

Here we saw several iguanas again, which were not bothered by the many visitors.

Now the landscape changed on our way: We went through swampy areas with mangroves and past a sea of palm trees.

At the end we saw some agoutis looking for food in the undergrowth.

They darted past three American deer that had made themselves comfortable in the shade.

On the way back to the bus, our guide spotted a crab buzzard in a tree.

We took the bus back to the port.

There we walked a bit along the promenade and came across three iguanas sunning themselves on the path and in the grass.

Then we went back on board, where we celebrated the New Year under white sails.