Submitted by Rebecca Sabers on the 2016 winter session program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
While in Manuel Antonio this past weekend, a beach town in Costa Rica, the group and I obviously went to the beach. I was really surprised at the amount of animals that just ran around the town freely. Each morning I was awoken by the howler monkeys in the hiking area behind our hotel, and actually saw a large pack while walking there. On the street between our hotel and the beach, there was always a monkey or a sloth walking up and down the telephone wire, climbing in the trees or simply “posing” for the tourists’ pictures. On Friday, we went to a private beach in Manuel Antonio National Park, and in order to get there, we walked through trails. Monkeys were everywhere, and most were so cute I wanted to take them all home with me. Even at the beach, packs of raccoons and monkeys ran around, opening backpacks and stealing any food they could find. I thought that it was funny because at the beaches at home, the only animals you really see are seagulls, and I thought they were ruthless, but they are nothing in comparison to the creatures here. One woman was playing tug of war with a lunchbox as two raccoons were determined to get a bite of her lunch.