La Sirena, Corcovado National Park
It was an auspicious start to the day when I woke up this morning and found all the planets bright in a crystal clear, midnight-blue sky, the sun just barely lightening the horizon to the east. We were going to spend the entire day within the boundaries of Costa Rica’s largest, wildest and woolliest national parks, Corcovado. The epitome of Neotropical rainforests, Corcovado has the potential to thrill with animal sightings, as well as disappoint by hiding them all behind the lush vegetation around and overhead. But the stars were in alignment, and Corcovado was at its best. Everyone, whether up on the ridge, along the stream or on the level trail, were able to get sightings of howler monkeys, white-throated capuchin monkeys or spider monkeys as well as scarlet macaws overhead, as well as other species, including the small but fascinating leaf-cutter ants.
What was particularly unusual today however, was the extremely calm condition of the sea on this normally wave-battered coastline. This allowed us an unusual opportunity for the afternoon. In typical Lindblad fashion, flexibility rules, and we decided to take advantage of the several favorable factors today and set sail for “La Sirena,” in the process spotting a humpback whale making its way south. La Sirena is a site on the Osa Peninsula further south, yet within Corcovado National Park, and almost never accessible by sea because of the breaking surf conditions. Today was peaceful, and we landed late in the afternoon when the day was starting to cool down under the forest canopy. Almost immediately along the trail we came across an anteater, known as the Northern Tamandua. It was draped along a slender branch, with the pink of its hind feet facing us, sound asleep. Finally our hushed excitement woke it, and after some serious wake-up scratching, made its way along a vine down, and then up into the canopy. Further along the trail we found ourselves surrounded overhead by dozens of Central American spider monkeys: juveniles, mothers with offspring attached to their backs, males – they were all there. We were first aware of their presence by moving branches, then falling leaves. Finally Bill Adams had a spider monkey above his head reach for a rotten branch which gave way, and both branch and monkey fell onto him. Needless to say, both were startled by the unforeseen outcome of this maneuver, and before Bill could shake hands to say no hard feelings, the monkey ran away to climb the nearest tree as fast as it could.
With that last impression, we reluctantly left this most special place, Corcovado National Park, as the rose-colored light of the setting sun led us back to our home away from home.
It was an auspicious start to the day when I woke up this morning and found all the planets bright in a crystal clear, midnight-blue sky, the sun just barely lightening the horizon to the east. We were going to spend the entire day within the boundaries of Costa Rica’s largest, wildest and woolliest national parks, Corcovado. The epitome of Neotropical rainforests, Corcovado has the potential to thrill with animal sightings, as well as disappoint by hiding them all behind the lush vegetation around and overhead. But the stars were in alignment, and Corcovado was at its best. Everyone, whether up on the ridge, along the stream or on the level trail, were able to get sightings of howler monkeys, white-throated capuchin monkeys or spider monkeys as well as scarlet macaws overhead, as well as other species, including the small but fascinating leaf-cutter ants.
What was particularly unusual today however, was the extremely calm condition of the sea on this normally wave-battered coastline. This allowed us an unusual opportunity for the afternoon. In typical Lindblad fashion, flexibility rules, and we decided to take advantage of the several favorable factors today and set sail for “La Sirena,” in the process spotting a humpback whale making its way south. La Sirena is a site on the Osa Peninsula further south, yet within Corcovado National Park, and almost never accessible by sea because of the breaking surf conditions. Today was peaceful, and we landed late in the afternoon when the day was starting to cool down under the forest canopy. Almost immediately along the trail we came across an anteater, known as the Northern Tamandua. It was draped along a slender branch, with the pink of its hind feet facing us, sound asleep. Finally our hushed excitement woke it, and after some serious wake-up scratching, made its way along a vine down, and then up into the canopy. Further along the trail we found ourselves surrounded overhead by dozens of Central American spider monkeys: juveniles, mothers with offspring attached to their backs, males – they were all there. We were first aware of their presence by moving branches, then falling leaves. Finally Bill Adams had a spider monkey above his head reach for a rotten branch which gave way, and both branch and monkey fell onto him. Needless to say, both were startled by the unforeseen outcome of this maneuver, and before Bill could shake hands to say no hard feelings, the monkey ran away to climb the nearest tree as fast as it could.
With that last impression, we reluctantly left this most special place, Corcovado National Park, as the rose-colored light of the setting sun led us back to our home away from home.
