Golfo Dulce, Casa Orquideas & Rio Esquinas
We spent our first day in Costa Rica exploring the deep, inner reaches of Golfo Dulce, or “sweet gulf.” This large embayment lies to the east of the Osa Peninsula, and is one of the wettest places in Costa Rica. It is fjord-like in its topography, with depths reaching 800 feet in the middle and strong currents fueling a rich food web.
After a brief technical stop at the port of Golfito, we spent our morning at a lovely little botanical garden known as Casa Orquideas. Owned and operated by an American expatriate couple, Casa Orquideas is a lush little hideaway. Here, Trudy and Ron have cultivated countless tropical plants from all over the world, and entice bright forest birds out into the open with their banana feeder.
Today we saw living specimens of spice-producing plants that most North Americans only recognize as powders in a bottle on the supermarket shelf. The bite of black pepper right off the vine and the tang of turmeric root are nothing like their dried, bottled counterparts. We saw vanilla beans, cacao trees, gingerroot, chile peppers, annatto pods, and perhaps the most interesting for me, a nutmeg. Both natural and human history came to life in this garden, as we understood that spices we take completely for granted today, were once considered more valuable than gold and sought after by early European explorers.
After our visit to this magic garden, we learned about the history of Costa Rica, from naturalist Rafael Robles. Lunch, then a siesta, and we were back out again, exploring one of the rivers that empty into Golfo Dulce.
Rio Esquinas is situated in the far northeastern part of Golfo Dulce, originating in the mountains to the north and east. We were fortunate to have a perfect afternoon high tide that allowed us access to this remote and wonderful ecosystem. At the river mouth, we explored the convoluted channels of a mangrove estuary, learning about the many adaptations of these hardy trees. Our naturalists also helped us understand the importance of mangroves, considered to be the third most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. Farther upriver, we entered the tropical rainforest, seeing large tree ferns, a three-toed sloth, northern tree boas, chestnut-mandibled toucans, red-lored parrots, green iguanas and dozens of long-legged wading birds like egrets, herons and ibises.
Tropical showers throughout the afternoon ensured that we never got too hot, and we all returned to the comfort of our little expedition ship for dinner, fine conversation and a good night’s sleep.
