Corcovado National Park and Playa Caletas
Today we woke-up with a colorful sunrise; shades of orange and turquoise were forecasting a beautiful day. Three groups headed toward San Pedrillo Station in Corcovado National Park, one of the most diverse tropical forests of Costa Rica.
The first group hiked a 3-mile ridge trail through some of the largest trees in the rainforest with some even reaching 165 feet up almost covering the blue sky beyond. During the group walk, we were able to see for the first time the Central American spider monkeys, the largest and fastest traveling monkey in the canopy. There were six of them, first foraging on fruits and then crossing the forest to quickly disappear.
The second group made its way through muddy ups and downs. While crossing a river up to our knees, we looked up, and at 100 feet up in the canopy, a howler monkey was calling deep and loud. Continuing the trail we found a reward, the opportunity to swim in a natural pool at the base of a beautiful and pristine waterfall.
The third group walked the trail parallel to the beach. The group had the chance to also see Central American spider monkeys, howler monkeys, black-throated trogons, rufous mourners and black-cheeked ant-tanager, as they passed by giant strangler figs.
As we were repositioning for a barbecue in Playa Caletas, someone saw some kind of “large dolphins.” The captain in command started to follow the pod. These cetaceans were dispersed within half a mile and were showing their back fin for very little time. After having them very close to the bow, we could see the “elbowed fin,” which together with size and color helped us to finally realize we were navigating together with false killer whales. Although they may not be a scarce species, they are not easy to find, so we continued with them for a while, in order to appreciate them better. They made a great photo opportunity.
Later in the afternoon, after navigating 45 minutes back, we had our barbecue. The afternoon was for leisure, horseback riding and bird-watching, featuring the iconic scarlet macaws.
Today we woke-up with a colorful sunrise; shades of orange and turquoise were forecasting a beautiful day. Three groups headed toward San Pedrillo Station in Corcovado National Park, one of the most diverse tropical forests of Costa Rica.
The first group hiked a 3-mile ridge trail through some of the largest trees in the rainforest with some even reaching 165 feet up almost covering the blue sky beyond. During the group walk, we were able to see for the first time the Central American spider monkeys, the largest and fastest traveling monkey in the canopy. There were six of them, first foraging on fruits and then crossing the forest to quickly disappear.
The second group made its way through muddy ups and downs. While crossing a river up to our knees, we looked up, and at 100 feet up in the canopy, a howler monkey was calling deep and loud. Continuing the trail we found a reward, the opportunity to swim in a natural pool at the base of a beautiful and pristine waterfall.
The third group walked the trail parallel to the beach. The group had the chance to also see Central American spider monkeys, howler monkeys, black-throated trogons, rufous mourners and black-cheeked ant-tanager, as they passed by giant strangler figs.
As we were repositioning for a barbecue in Playa Caletas, someone saw some kind of “large dolphins.” The captain in command started to follow the pod. These cetaceans were dispersed within half a mile and were showing their back fin for very little time. After having them very close to the bow, we could see the “elbowed fin,” which together with size and color helped us to finally realize we were navigating together with false killer whales. Although they may not be a scarce species, they are not easy to find, so we continued with them for a while, in order to appreciate them better. They made a great photo opportunity.
Later in the afternoon, after navigating 45 minutes back, we had our barbecue. The afternoon was for leisure, horseback riding and bird-watching, featuring the iconic scarlet macaws.
