The tiniest frogs . . . eeee!

My family spent this spring break in Costa Rica. We went, of course, for the wildlife. Unfortunately, so did everyone else.

Manuel Antonio National Park, on the Pacific coast, is one of the prime spots for seeing biodiversity. I had been there before nearly two decades ago, but friends warned me that it had changed. “It has really blown up,” they said. But those comments didn’t prepare me for what awaited me. We arrived at the park, met our guide, and joined throngs of tourists streaming through the gates. We had hired a private guide, but it hardly mattered. We slowly made our way — en masse — down a wide gravel road. One guide would spot something, and then we’d all crowd around — twenty spotting scopes aimed at a particular tree, or leaf, or rock.

Don’t get me wrong, we saw wildlife. So much. Sloths, capuchin monkeys, a milk frog, a bat, brown vine snake, green vine snake, birds, lizards and more. But the vast majority of these animals I observed through a spotting scope set up by a guide while standing amid a crowd of tourists. So rarely did we see animals without the spotting scope that I briefly entertained the possibility that the scopes had been loaded with pre-recorded videos. The whole thing felt contrived and disappointing. (But it’s hard to be mad at an experience that I, by my very presence, helped make subpar.)

Manuel Antonio National Park was, by far, my least favorite part of the trip. But the region itself is a gem. You don’t need to go into the park to see wildlife. It’s everywhere. At the restaurant across the street from our rental, a two-toed sloth the staff had named Pedro dozed in a tree. Tiny anoles raced up and down the curtains. An iguana poked its head out of a broken pipe. Butterflies and hummingbirds circled the pool.

One day after breakfast, I took a solo walk down the path behind the restaurant, which led to a small creek. As I made my way over to the water I realized, to my utter delight, that the ground was teeming with frogs no bigger than my fingernail. In the creek I found crawfish. I raced back to the rental and convinced my kids to join me. We spent a solid hour exploring the bank. It was magical.

So I guess seeing wildlife isn’t enough. Not for me, anyway. I want an experience that includes discovery. Even if that discovery is just a slew of baby frogs.

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