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Manuel Antonio National Park – A Walk in Our Backyard. A snake in Manuel Antonio National Park, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Manuel Antonio National Park – A Walk in Our Backyard

One of the first things we do when we arrive at a new destination and move into our ‘home’ is to explore our surrounding neighbourhood. As our latest ‘home away from home’ is in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, it made sense to begin exploring our own backyard, the Manuel Antonio National Park. And what an amazing backyard it is.

Nature guide Manuel Cabalceta Mendez picked us up from our home early one morning for the five-minute drive down the hill to the park’s entrance. A local who has been guiding here almost every day for ten years, Manuel probably knows the park better than anyone.

“There are 32 national parks in Costa Rica – that’s 13% of the country! – and this is the second most popular,” Manuel tells us as we start out, his eyes darting here and there, scouring the undergrowth and tree tops for wildlife.

Manuel Antonio National Park – A Walk in Our Backyard. Manuel Antonio National Park, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Minutes later Manuel spots us a sloth. Costa Rica’s larger equivalent of Australia’s koala bear – all they seem to do is eat and sleep – Manuel informs us that they only go to the toilet once a week, climbing down to the ground, digging a hole, and squatting, before returning to their tree. It’s comforting considering there has been one living in a tree directly above our first home away from home in Costa Rica!

We head off the main path onto a narrow track into the thick of the jungle, to see what we might find. Manuel is hoping we’ll see a snake that has been hanging around here recently, but first he points out an elegant long-legged bird called a Grey-necked Wood-rail in a swampy pond, an enormous millipede that releases toxic gases (fortunately not when we meet him), a handsome green Anole lizard with an enormous sack beneath its neck, jelly-blubber-like sacks of tree frog larvae dripping from trees (astonishing), and magnificent bright orange cup mushrooms (poisonous of course). And we’ve only been walking for 20 minutes!

Manuel Antonio National Park – A Walk in Our Backyard. Manuel Antonio National Park, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Back on the main track we soon spot a mother Agouti and child (rodent-like creatures like capybaras) casually crossing the road, cute tent-making bats hiding under palm leaves, a Blue Morpho butterfly (too fast for us to capture in an image), countless purple and orange tropical land crabs scurrying about the mangrove floor, an adorable red and black Scarlet Tanager, and more slow-moving sloths.

If that weren’t thrilling enough, Manuel spots a handsome Laughing Falcon as it hops across the jungle floor. “He must have been eating a snake!” Manuel exclaims, excitedly positioning the tripod legs of his scope as the beautiful chocolate and white-feathered bird with its black Batman-like eye-mask swoops up to the top of a towering naked tree. There he perches for a while, looking down at us, occasionally laughing (at us?), and posing splendidly for Terence.

Not long after we have torn ourselves away, Manuel is once again excitedly setting up his scope so we can get an even closer look at a tree right beside the track that is full of Fiery-billed Aracari from the Toucan family feeding merrily on berries. We love falcons and were delighted with the Laughing Falcon, but these guys are pretty special for two Australians who were only accustomed to seeing Toucans in zoos or on breakfast cereal packs until now. Their flamboyant colours and massive curved beaks are astonishing.

Manuel Antonio National Park – A Walk in Our Backyard. Manuel Antonio National Park, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

We stay for some time watching these stunning birds, but as we walk off our jaws dropping not at the birds but at the group of young Americans who wander right by some of the icons of Costa Rica, chatting amongst themselves, totally oblivious to the fabulous creatures in the tree right above them.

As if that weren’t enough, on the remainder of our three-hour walk in the park we spot a long list of beautiful wild creatures: pretty Blue and Gray Tanagers, a lovely Purple-crowned Fairy hummingbird, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Black-hooded Antshrikes, Lesser Long-Nosed Bats, Jesus Lizards sprinting across the water, majestic Iguanas, the cutest Raccoons we’ve ever seen hiding within the roots of a tree while their mother steals them lunch from bathers’ backpacks on the beach, and a tiny common green tree frog so miniscule we’ve no idea how Manuel spots him hiding in a hole in a tree trunk.

Manuel Antonio National Park – A Walk in Our Backyard. Manuel Antonio National Park, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Ecstatic at our morning’s spotting, we don’t mind at all when Manuel says, a tad disappointed, that he can’t seem to see any Caimans or Crocodiles as we stroll beside the mangrove swamp. “But it’s been a great morning,” I tell him, honestly. “We’ve seen so much!”

Not satisfied, Manuel leads us down onto the sands of Manuel Antonio Beach. It doesn’t take him long to spy a small Boa Constrictor wrapped around the branches of a tree above us. Manuel is thrilled to bits. Me not so much. While we certainly experienced what we came for, seeing Manuel so excited after ten years of coming here is testament to just how special this park is.

Manuel Cabalceta Mendez
manuel.cabalceta@gmail.com
506 8719 6195
Manuel is a licensed guide who offers walks in the park and other nature-based activities. He can be booked by email before you arrive in Costa Rica or by phone once you are there, however, note that he gets busy during high season. If you’re staying at Casa Elsa, Susan, the concierge, can book Manuel for you.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jen Laceda says

    September 29, 2010 at 5:40 am

    Needless to say, my little one loved your photos and is bugging me to take her to Costa Rica!

  2. Jen Laceda says

    September 29, 2010 at 5:50 am

    Of course, she calls the tree frog larva a “crystal cocoon” and the poisonous mushroom as “reverse tomato flower”. The toucan and sloth she recognized right away because of Dora cartoons (So TV is good for something – LOL)! I can soooo see us packing our bags and heading to Costa Rica for a family vacation. Do we need any vaccines to visit a National Park?
    Thanks,
    Jen

  3. Nicole says

    September 29, 2010 at 7:58 am

    We asked our guide while we were driving on the Osa Penninsula of Costa Rica if crocodiles lived there. He confidently assured us there were, and, sure enough, a short while later we crossed a shallow stream and he shouted “Cocodrilo!” and pointed it out in the deeper water.

    I bet they’re plentiful and your guide was disappointed he didn’t get to show you one. But wow, you saw so much in one place!

  4. Terence Carter says

    September 29, 2010 at 6:19 am

    Jen, for kids who love nature it’s a real hot spot. But to spot everything you need a guide like Manuel – he actually asked us exactly what we were looking for etc.

  5. Terence Carter says

    September 29, 2010 at 6:23 am

    You don’t need anything apart from the usual vaccinations. There is malaria in some parts of Costa Rica, but very rare in the area we were staying in.
    T

  6. Terence Carter says

    September 29, 2010 at 8:38 am

    Hi Nicole, considering that I was surfing right near the outlet from the stream several times a day, I wasn’t so disappointed to not see one to be honest ;)
    They’re not really plentiful in Manuel Antonio we were told, there are three or four that hang out at the streams – apparently. No one wants to take risks, hence the boatman in the last picture!
    Thanks for your comment!

  7. manuel antonio national park says

    January 4, 2011 at 4:29 am

    WOW Beautiful images.

    Costa rica is so beautiful. I wish to visit there someday.

    Thanks for posting those pics.

  8. Lara Dunston says

    August 28, 2011 at 12:46 pm

    Thanks, Ted! I hope you found some helpful tips in the post – we enjoyed the tour of the spice farm too (post among this Costa Rica series), which you might like if you’re a bit of a foodie.

    Ha! Ha! I’m guessing you’re older than 20, then, and interested in more than frolicking in the sea with other 20 year olds!

    Looking forward to reading about your trip. BTW, I clicked through to your site, but that link is not working or perhaps the site is down at the moment? Do feel free to come and leave a URL here after your trip to direct us (and our readers) to any of your Costa Rica stories. Have fun!

  9. Traveling Ted says

    August 28, 2011 at 11:45 am

    Gorgeous photos, and you captured the cuteness of the raccoon family so well. Going there next week. Cannot wait! I am American, but I will not be obliviously walking past an gorgeous birds.

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About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
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This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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