Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
What is it about a toucan that makes us smile the way we do? Maybe the wild, unnatural Life-Saver colors, the ostentatious bill that it flaunts with pride like oversized jewelry, its apparent defiance of the laws of equilibrium when it stands upright on a branch, or in flight when we can almost feel our own neck muscles ache as it seems to strain to carry its bill forward to its next perch. Or maybe it’s that indifferent look in its large, knowing eye.
Whatever it is, we were all smiles this morning at the site of this chestnut-mandibled toucan and others at the beguiling tropical gardens of Casa Orquideas in Costa Rica’s Golfo Dulce. Besides the frenzy of color, shape and texture of tropical plants, this is also a paradise for tropical birds. What a paradise! We could not help but admire and perhaps envy the creative creation of Ron and Trudy MacAllister, who came to this isolated spot in 1979 when the entire area was dominated by the banana plantations of the United Fruit Company. They were looking for a different way of life, and on this land that is still only reached by boat, they started planting and exchanging tropical plants. Twenty-five years later they are on the map as a tropical botanical garden, and their company this morning equaled the thrill and intrigue of the gardens themselves. Fantasies aside, could we really do what the MacAllisters have done, and live completely isolated off the land? We all agreed that you would at least really have to love and understand each other!
After a refreshing morning swim from the stern of the Sea Voyager, we moved further into Golfo Dulce for an afternoon of kayaking, Zodiac cruises, and bird watching walks. Everybody enjoyed a stop along the river at a typical Costa Rican roadside cantina, but it was so much fun that we stayed a little late and were all washed clean with a late afternoon downpour on the return through the river. Just another day in paradise . . .
What is it about a toucan that makes us smile the way we do? Maybe the wild, unnatural Life-Saver colors, the ostentatious bill that it flaunts with pride like oversized jewelry, its apparent defiance of the laws of equilibrium when it stands upright on a branch, or in flight when we can almost feel our own neck muscles ache as it seems to strain to carry its bill forward to its next perch. Or maybe it’s that indifferent look in its large, knowing eye.
Whatever it is, we were all smiles this morning at the site of this chestnut-mandibled toucan and others at the beguiling tropical gardens of Casa Orquideas in Costa Rica’s Golfo Dulce. Besides the frenzy of color, shape and texture of tropical plants, this is also a paradise for tropical birds. What a paradise! We could not help but admire and perhaps envy the creative creation of Ron and Trudy MacAllister, who came to this isolated spot in 1979 when the entire area was dominated by the banana plantations of the United Fruit Company. They were looking for a different way of life, and on this land that is still only reached by boat, they started planting and exchanging tropical plants. Twenty-five years later they are on the map as a tropical botanical garden, and their company this morning equaled the thrill and intrigue of the gardens themselves. Fantasies aside, could we really do what the MacAllisters have done, and live completely isolated off the land? We all agreed that you would at least really have to love and understand each other!
After a refreshing morning swim from the stern of the Sea Voyager, we moved further into Golfo Dulce for an afternoon of kayaking, Zodiac cruises, and bird watching walks. Everybody enjoyed a stop along the river at a typical Costa Rican roadside cantina, but it was so much fun that we stayed a little late and were all washed clean with a late afternoon downpour on the return through the river. Just another day in paradise . . .
