Peninsula de Osa & Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Never does nature seem more beautiful and exotic than in the tropics. And today in Peninsula de Osa it was no exception. We started our morning hike with the sighting of a potentially lethal snake, a Fer-de-lance or Bothrops asper. Even though it was a juvenile, they are still highly venomous. Inactive during the day as they tend to hunt at night, this infamous snake crawled around our path, and we were lucky enough to see it.
As we continued our walk, we saw an interesting array of Neotropical Birds, from woodcreepers and woodpeckers to Blue-Crowned Motmots, White Whiskered Puffbirds and Red-Capped Manakins. Most of all manakins are brightly colored and they performed the art of courtship dancing at its best.
At the end of the trail, a warm water beach awaited those who wanted to take a dip, while Scarlet Macaws drew red lines in the sky.
In the afternoon we headed up to the National Park of Corcovado, and adventured into the depths of this incredible rainforest. Our goal was the waterfall. Our reward was a small troop of Central American Spider Monkeys that were swinging and dashing through the branches, approaching us quietly and using their prehensile tail as they maneuvered above in the canopy.
Here we also enjoyed the presence of such birds as the Black-Throated Trogon, Bare-Throated Tiger-Heron, Ant-Tanagers and an interesting crocodile which gave us nothing to fear, since he was just a few feet long, even though a few feet away.
Overall our day was full with rainforest experiences that gave us a good taste of how rich, colorful and eccentric animal life can be within the forest.
