Manuel Antonio National Park

Today we headed out early for Manuel Antonio National Park. We'd heard amazing things about this place which is full of wildlife and has beautiful, protected beaches. Mark and I had to pay to get in and our bags were checked. They are very strict about packaging (we had cut up fruit and sandwiches already prepared) and there was a huge bin full of confiscated packets of crisps at the entrance.

We decided not to pay for a guide who can help you spot wildlife. Boys are experts at sloth spotting and when you come across a bunch of people looking up you can mostly see what they've spotted, unless it's a lizard that looks just like a leaf!

Playa Manuel Antonio was like paradise. The sea was warm with gentle waves and the white sand was surrounded by rainforest. 

Trying to find some shade, another scorching day.

Sea selfie!

Perfect.

Just had to watch out for these chaps trying to steal our picnic.

Just through the trees was Playa Espadilla Sur. Bigger beach with bigger waves.

Enough of this relaxing on beaches, we hit the Catedral trail to check out some viewpoints.

Snack stop.

Awesome views.

Huge trees.

Spikey caterpillars.

Secret coves.

Then back to Playa Manuel Antonio to the rockpools. We spent some time in the warm pools checking out the fish. Freddy found a eel too. Unfortunately none of the pictures are that good! 

Looking pretty pink and feeling very tired we headed home. Costa Rica is such a beautiful and magical country. Several times each day mark and I both think to ourselves ' what are we doing here?'

Topic at dinner tonight, bikinis, thongs and nudest beaches! Keeping it real!