In Costa Rica
This morning at sunrise we were treated to a gorgeous green flash, so defined that it shone through even the sleepiest eye on the bow, and left us with sparkling excitement for the dawning day. Even better, the emerald sky show was accompanied by a huge school of common dolphins. By the time the call for breakfast came, there were subpods of dolphins all around the boat, in any direction you chose to gaze. Our first anchorage of the day was facing the breathtaking, concave, peach and rose splashed cliffs of Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose. Some guests snorkeled and marveled at the whirling schools of blue and gold snapper with darting Mexican goatfish bisecting the spinning masses, while other guests chose to explore the terrestrial marvels. We meandered along the wide, sandy arroyo shaded by arching palo blancos and massive elephant trees with their bark forever sloughing. Stalwart agave perched precariously on razor thin jutting rock ledges above our heads as we gazed at blooming powder blue nightshades and pink rock hibiscus. Courting peregrine falcons spun around each other in the air, calling love poems to each other, and their noise was answered by the descending trills of a male Costas hummingbird and the chirps of black throated sparrows flitting through the brush. Returning to the beach, we made a brief detour to peruse the Pleistocene fossils that the elements have increasingly exposed in the sandstone: turtle scutes and scallop shells among the treasures staring up at the cloudless, azure sky. Scudding across a sea as smooth as glass, we returned to the ship and heard a lecture about the local marine mammals before resuming our posts on the bow to search for the living representatives. As we approached Puerto Gato, our second mooring of the day, again we were escorted by common dolphins. This time they decided to put on an acrobatic show. There must have been at least 500 of them, porpoising in pairs and triplets, some with young babies with still-pink bellies, some leaping high out of the water and crashing down on their sides in impressive salty sprays. Why do they do that, was the query from all sides of the bow. Why? Who knows? Probably just because they can! Because it is fun! Because they feel like it! Because they are responding to the exclamations of delight that they must be able to hear emanating from our decks whenever they do it? Even answers to the most obvious questions about these magnificent animals remain mysterious to those of us who spend most of our lives out of the sea.
The sand of Puerto Gato beckoned to us, and we could not escape its draw. Some of us kayaked along the shore, some snorkeled and were delighted to see stone scorpionfish and reef coronetfish, while others hiked into the scrub, peering at mouse footprints, snake trails, lizard tracks, and even raccoon imprints. Who would have thought raccoons, common backyard visitors at home, would be able to survive in the harsh desert? The perfect ending to a fun-filled day: a barbecue on the beach, complete with our own “mariachi” band (Tres amigos and una Chiquita) singing a variety of Mexican songs, accompanied by somewhat questionable translations (La Cucaracha is about Pancho Villa’s car?!). We slipped into bed, surprised to realize that we have only been on board for two full days, and wondering what new and wonderful sites we will behold tomorrow.
This morning at sunrise we were treated to a gorgeous green flash, so defined that it shone through even the sleepiest eye on the bow, and left us with sparkling excitement for the dawning day. Even better, the emerald sky show was accompanied by a huge school of common dolphins. By the time the call for breakfast came, there were subpods of dolphins all around the boat, in any direction you chose to gaze. Our first anchorage of the day was facing the breathtaking, concave, peach and rose splashed cliffs of Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose. Some guests snorkeled and marveled at the whirling schools of blue and gold snapper with darting Mexican goatfish bisecting the spinning masses, while other guests chose to explore the terrestrial marvels. We meandered along the wide, sandy arroyo shaded by arching palo blancos and massive elephant trees with their bark forever sloughing. Stalwart agave perched precariously on razor thin jutting rock ledges above our heads as we gazed at blooming powder blue nightshades and pink rock hibiscus. Courting peregrine falcons spun around each other in the air, calling love poems to each other, and their noise was answered by the descending trills of a male Costas hummingbird and the chirps of black throated sparrows flitting through the brush. Returning to the beach, we made a brief detour to peruse the Pleistocene fossils that the elements have increasingly exposed in the sandstone: turtle scutes and scallop shells among the treasures staring up at the cloudless, azure sky. Scudding across a sea as smooth as glass, we returned to the ship and heard a lecture about the local marine mammals before resuming our posts on the bow to search for the living representatives. As we approached Puerto Gato, our second mooring of the day, again we were escorted by common dolphins. This time they decided to put on an acrobatic show. There must have been at least 500 of them, porpoising in pairs and triplets, some with young babies with still-pink bellies, some leaping high out of the water and crashing down on their sides in impressive salty sprays. Why do they do that, was the query from all sides of the bow. Why? Who knows? Probably just because they can! Because it is fun! Because they feel like it! Because they are responding to the exclamations of delight that they must be able to hear emanating from our decks whenever they do it? Even answers to the most obvious questions about these magnificent animals remain mysterious to those of us who spend most of our lives out of the sea.
The sand of Puerto Gato beckoned to us, and we could not escape its draw. Some of us kayaked along the shore, some snorkeled and were delighted to see stone scorpionfish and reef coronetfish, while others hiked into the scrub, peering at mouse footprints, snake trails, lizard tracks, and even raccoon imprints. Who would have thought raccoons, common backyard visitors at home, would be able to survive in the harsh desert? The perfect ending to a fun-filled day: a barbecue on the beach, complete with our own “mariachi” band (Tres amigos and una Chiquita) singing a variety of Mexican songs, accompanied by somewhat questionable translations (La Cucaracha is about Pancho Villa’s car?!). We slipped into bed, surprised to realize that we have only been on board for two full days, and wondering what new and wonderful sites we will behold tomorrow.
