After visitors first set foot in Manuel Antonio National Park, two questions invariably pop into their heads: How can nature have come together to produce this scenery of serene and sublime perfection? And who is Manuel Antonio?

According to park administrator Jose Antonio Salazar, that is the $80 Million dollar question.

Although no historical record exists, an explanations as to the mystery of the origins of the parks name abound, the most accepted version tells of days when the parks neighboring port city of Quepos on the country's central Pacific coast was a banana company town, Salazar explained.

Back n the 1930's Quepos was a center of banana production. The town and harbor were dirty, its waters were shark-infested, and people from the town had to look elsewhere for recreational spots," said Salazar, who has been the administrator of Manuel Antonio Park for 16 years.

When they finally discovered the beautiful beaches of what is now Manuel Antonio, Quepos residents had to trek for hours through a trail-less, overgrown jungle to reach them, and when they did, there was not a restaurant or refreshment stand in sight to appease their thirst according to salazar.

An old man with a keen eye for business took advantage of the situation and started selling water and coffee to the beach's weekend visitors. His name was, of course, Manuel Antonio.

"You know how we Costa Rican's are: after a while, people started saying, Let's go visit Manuel Antonio everytime they wanted to go to the beaches, until finally the old man's name stuck in for good," Salazar said.

Manuel Antonio became a national park in November 1972, as a result of the "indignation and mass fervor" of area residents, Salar said.