{"id":1164,"date":"2020-03-10T18:40:38","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T18:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/?p=1164"},"modified":"2022-12-16T19:14:34","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T19:14:34","slug":"virtual-vacation-in-a-tropical-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/virtual-vacation-in-a-tropical-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Vacation in a Tropical National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You step forward slowly, almost with trepidation, as the bridge wobbles ever so slightly from side to side. Your hands are gripping the top railing of the this tree-top structure as you proceed forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you\u2019re acutely aware of your footing, your eyes can\u2019t help but wander to the canvas of green vegetation off to your left. Something red catches your eye as it soars silently overhead. As you reach the halfway point of this bridge, which seems to be straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, the waterfall comes into full view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your thoughts about the swaying of the bridge have eased a bit as you take in the tumbling, cascading water as it falls away out of sight in a dull rush. Before you know it you reach the other side, high in the canopy of this marvelous rainforest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your friends on the wooden treetop platform wave you over fervently to have a look at something you can\u2019t quite see yet. As you step slowly onto the creaky, rectangular-shaped platform you realize what has captivated their attention.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

You\u2019ve walked right into a staring contest with a neon green tree frog, posing from a nearby leaf. A creature of striking color, its throat protrudes as it breathes. Vibrant red eyes stare back at you, yet you\u2019re distracted by its disproportionately large webbed hands, which also happen to be bright orange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later that day as you lounge on the bleach white sand, you think back to this moment in the jungle, in awe of the range of biodiversity you\u2019ve witnessed in just one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aqua blue waters that served as your transparent window to the technicolor fish and reefs below now begin to fade as daylight is chased from the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best sunsets you\u2019ve ever seen is taking center stage in the sky, the sun now fallen down behind the rocky islets on the horizon. Fiery oranges and pinks light up the remaining clouds as you sit, leaning back in the soft sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The light has changed but the thundering crash of waves remains; pierced only by the occasional screech of a red-backed squirrel monkey playing somewhere in the trees behind you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You close your eyes to let this all sink in\u2026.your real-life screen saver, accessible at any point in the comfort of your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Sunset in Manuel Antonio National Park (Costa Rica)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve just taken a trip in your imagination to El Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. It\u2019s one of Costa Rica\u2019s smallest, yet finest parks, with abundant wildlife and rainforest that stretches to the turquoise blue sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You step forward slowly, almost with trepidation, as the bridge wobbles ever so slightly from side to side. Your hands are gripping the top railing of the this tree-top structure as you proceed forward. While you\u2019re acutely aware of your footing, your eyes can\u2019t help but wander to the canvas of green vegetation off to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[16],"post_folder":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1165,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164\/revisions\/1165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1164"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=1164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}