Manuel Antonio National Park and Curu Wildlife Refuge
One of the most fascinating aspects of traveling through Costa Rica and Panama is the enormous biodiversity that one encounters. This is due to the fact that the Central American Isthmus is both a biological bridge as well as a filter. This region is next to the Sinai Peninsula, the only piece of land in the planet that serves as a link between two continents. But while the Sinai Peninsula is a desert, Central America is covered not by one but by many different kinds of tropical forests. Its location and topography have made this insignificantly small strip of land one of the most complex mosaics of life zones in the world.
This morning we visited Manuel Antonio National Park. A transition forest which serves as a liason between the tropical rainforests in the southern part of the country and the semi-deciduous tropical regions to the north. There we encountered two types of sloths and monkeys, Antshrikes, the “surreal” common potoo and black-bellied whistling ducks next to iguanas, basilisks and other reptiles in just a couple of hours. Then, we proceeded sailing to the Nicoya Peninsula where we visited the tropical dry forest of Curu Wildlife Refuge. Scarlet macaws, black headed trogons, mangrove hawks, magpie jays live in a forest that seems to be dead as the dry season makes its way but which, in just a couple of months, explode with lushness as the first rains of April come to transform the place into something totally different.
It seems strange that only seven days have past since we first congregated aboard the Sea Voyager. Then, we were total strangers, and now, we are friends. Then we had no idea of what we were going to see, learn and experience. We had heard and read about the Panama Canal but crossing it brought it to life and gave it new meaning. Snorkeling in Coiba showed many of us a world we had forgotten existed. Seeing the frigate birds stealing from boobies and pelicans in Bona Island was fascinating. But will we ever forget the day we saw humpacked whales and pan tropical spoted dolphins next to the ship? Our journey has come to an end, but we have all in one way or another been transformed.
One of the most fascinating aspects of traveling through Costa Rica and Panama is the enormous biodiversity that one encounters. This is due to the fact that the Central American Isthmus is both a biological bridge as well as a filter. This region is next to the Sinai Peninsula, the only piece of land in the planet that serves as a link between two continents. But while the Sinai Peninsula is a desert, Central America is covered not by one but by many different kinds of tropical forests. Its location and topography have made this insignificantly small strip of land one of the most complex mosaics of life zones in the world.
This morning we visited Manuel Antonio National Park. A transition forest which serves as a liason between the tropical rainforests in the southern part of the country and the semi-deciduous tropical regions to the north. There we encountered two types of sloths and monkeys, Antshrikes, the “surreal” common potoo and black-bellied whistling ducks next to iguanas, basilisks and other reptiles in just a couple of hours. Then, we proceeded sailing to the Nicoya Peninsula where we visited the tropical dry forest of Curu Wildlife Refuge. Scarlet macaws, black headed trogons, mangrove hawks, magpie jays live in a forest that seems to be dead as the dry season makes its way but which, in just a couple of months, explode with lushness as the first rains of April come to transform the place into something totally different.
It seems strange that only seven days have past since we first congregated aboard the Sea Voyager. Then, we were total strangers, and now, we are friends. Then we had no idea of what we were going to see, learn and experience. We had heard and read about the Panama Canal but crossing it brought it to life and gave it new meaning. Snorkeling in Coiba showed many of us a world we had forgotten existed. Seeing the frigate birds stealing from boobies and pelicans in Bona Island was fascinating. But will we ever forget the day we saw humpacked whales and pan tropical spoted dolphins next to the ship? Our journey has come to an end, but we have all in one way or another been transformed.
