Osa Peninsula, Marenco and Caletas
This morning I woke up thinking about the fact that even though the tropical forest covers only 7 percent of the planet’s land surface, it contains around 50 percent of its entire species.
In countries like Costa Rica and Panama, our two destinations on this trip, national parks and private preserves can work to the benefit of both visitors and residents. Visitors are rewarded with a close encounter with wildlife as residents are benefited by making a living from ecotourism. The places that we visited today are examples of this symbiotic situation and are a part of what makes Costa Rica so fascinating.
First we visited the private Marenco Biological Reserve, (2,000 acres), which works as a buffer zone for Corcovado national park and employs local people. We had different options for hikes with our naturalists in this beautiful and protected area and were rewarded on our hikes by sights of Central American spider monkeys, three toed sloths, white-throated capuchin monkeys and several species of birds. We also learned about how the rainforest works.
In the afternoon, we repositioned to nearby Caletas were we had a delicious picnic barbecue, and enjoyed folkloric dances performed by kids from a nearby school. After lunch, some went horseback riding while others stayed on the beach and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.
It has been an amazing trip. I wonder what tomorrow has in store for us as we continue our Voyage aboard the Sea Voyager.
This morning I woke up thinking about the fact that even though the tropical forest covers only 7 percent of the planet’s land surface, it contains around 50 percent of its entire species.
In countries like Costa Rica and Panama, our two destinations on this trip, national parks and private preserves can work to the benefit of both visitors and residents. Visitors are rewarded with a close encounter with wildlife as residents are benefited by making a living from ecotourism. The places that we visited today are examples of this symbiotic situation and are a part of what makes Costa Rica so fascinating.
First we visited the private Marenco Biological Reserve, (2,000 acres), which works as a buffer zone for Corcovado national park and employs local people. We had different options for hikes with our naturalists in this beautiful and protected area and were rewarded on our hikes by sights of Central American spider monkeys, three toed sloths, white-throated capuchin monkeys and several species of birds. We also learned about how the rainforest works.
In the afternoon, we repositioned to nearby Caletas were we had a delicious picnic barbecue, and enjoyed folkloric dances performed by kids from a nearby school. After lunch, some went horseback riding while others stayed on the beach and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.
It has been an amazing trip. I wonder what tomorrow has in store for us as we continue our Voyage aboard the Sea Voyager.
