Casa Orquideas and Esquinas River, Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
Incredible as it sounds, we have already spent half of our trip in the tropics of Central America. We crossed the famous Panama Canal, we admired the seabird colony in the Bay of Panama and we snorkeled all day long in the greatness of the Coiba Marine Park.
In the early hours of the day, the National Geographic Sea Lion slowly and calmly entered the waters of the Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica. Its geological formation makes it a unique place in the world. The central area reaches a depth of 700 ft with a fairly shallow entrance around 60 ft. Consequently it is known as a tropical fjord, a sink in the ocean floor caused by the movement of tectonic plates.
Today was a very active day; around 6a.m. we docked at Golfito, a little fishing town where we passed through Customs to enter Costa Rica. Meanwhile, while the officials and our Purser, Taylor, were taking care of the paper work, many guests enjoyed the full moon and the sunrise at the same time, sipping a nice cup of coffee or stretching their bodies with Becky.
Soon after breakfast, we headed toward our morning destination, a well manicured tropical garden, with countless numbers of orchids, bromeliads, hibiscus, heliconias, pineapples, bananas, papayas, palm trees… I mean a dream-come-true place for any plant and bird lover. As the guests were making their way to the beach, the loud squawking of at least four Scarlet macaws was the cherry on the cake to start the day. These eighteen inch parrots are scarlet red with yellow and blue shoulder-feathers, they are threatened in numbers due to their astounding plumage, therefore to see one is already a treat. Among the macaws, other bright attired birds were spotted such as toucans, tanagers and hummingbirds. This garden is owned by a couple of Expatriates, Ron and Trudy McAllister. They explored the country and found themselves at home on this isolated patch of forest. After 30 years of hard work they turned this area into a quintessential array of tropical plants.
After the all aboard, the National Geographic Sea Lion, lifted anchor and found its way toward our second destination and outing of the day, Esquinas River, its mouth is framed with mangrove forests. Mangroves are very important ecosystems because they work as nurseries for small fish, providing protection from predators until the fish are grown and they move into the sea. Mangroves also act as a natural barrier for strong waves, collecting sediments in their root systems in order to form more soil, which helps expand the rainforest. A real tropical shower caught us exploring this unique ecosystem either by Zodiac or for the more outdoorsy by kayak, either way today was a great adventurous first day in Costa Rica.
