Animal spotting in the rain forest

One of the big draws of Costa Rica is the rain forest and our bit of it was found not only around our hotel, but in Manual Antonio National Park, Costa Rica’s smallest national park. Small it may be, but it’s home to an enormous variety of wildlife (of the animal variety) as well as beauty. In 2011, Forbes named it one of the 12 most beautiful national parks in the world.

Once you’ve paid your $10, you can wander the park trails yourself and relax on the beautiful beaches. But unless you have superhuman eyesight, if you want to see the wildlife, take a tour! The guides can spot things you’d never even know were there. Without Berny, we would only have seen monkeys and some lizards. With him and his telescope, we saw…well, you’ll see.

Right inside the park entrance was this lovely guy, waiting to welcome us. Taking photos through the telescope assured getting up close to whatever we saw.

A gladiator frog, so named because the males will fight to the death in order to mate with a female.

A Golden Orb Weaver spider…

A basilisk, also dubbed the Jesus Christ lizard for its ability to run, rather than walk, on water. After about 15 feet or so, the basilisk will be swimming like the rest of us.

Didn’t get the name of this guy.

You’re right; it’s a grasshopper.

Some bats just hanging around…

Three-toed sloths are easily caught on camera since they don’t move very fast.

Another sloth, this time with a baby just peeking out of her arms…

Another lizard, this one enjoying a bit of time on the beach…