Golfo Dulce, Puntarenas Costa Rica
Calmed waters welcome us to our second country of exploration this week: Costa Rica. An orange tinted sky and lush green vegetation kissing the water was our first premonition that this would be a great day immersed in nature. After clearing customs and immigration we arrived to our first destination: Casa Orquideas Botanical Gardens.
Casa Orquideas is owned by Ron and Trudy Mc Callister, where they display their love and passion for tropical plants and thirty years of hard work. Casa Orquideas’ estate is a buffer zone for the Peñas Blancas wildlife refuge, one of the newly protected areas in the Golfo Dulce region.
Our guests had the chance to walk the trails learning about bromeliads, orchids, cocoa and kapok trees… even special sightings of scarlet macaws and chestnut mandibled toucans. Every step we took there was a new plant, flower or fruit that made us realize the complexity of species found in the tropical regions of the world.
Once back on board we had a chance to jump in the waters of the gulf from the stern. After lunch naturalist Gaston Trujillo introduced us to the biodiversity and ecology of Panama & Costa Rica.
By mid afternoon our destination was Rio Rincon. This time the tide allowed us to reach at least a couple of miles up river where tiger herons, whimbrels, and basilisk lizards were the main witnesses of our exploration. Meanwhile another group of guests went kayaking or walking, discovering new interactions between the flora and fauna of the area.
With the sunset the rain came; a rainbow illuminated our eyes with the most amazing colors and although a little wet, our spirit was full of enjoyment.
Calmed waters welcome us to our second country of exploration this week: Costa Rica. An orange tinted sky and lush green vegetation kissing the water was our first premonition that this would be a great day immersed in nature. After clearing customs and immigration we arrived to our first destination: Casa Orquideas Botanical Gardens.
Casa Orquideas is owned by Ron and Trudy Mc Callister, where they display their love and passion for tropical plants and thirty years of hard work. Casa Orquideas’ estate is a buffer zone for the Peñas Blancas wildlife refuge, one of the newly protected areas in the Golfo Dulce region.
Our guests had the chance to walk the trails learning about bromeliads, orchids, cocoa and kapok trees… even special sightings of scarlet macaws and chestnut mandibled toucans. Every step we took there was a new plant, flower or fruit that made us realize the complexity of species found in the tropical regions of the world.
Once back on board we had a chance to jump in the waters of the gulf from the stern. After lunch naturalist Gaston Trujillo introduced us to the biodiversity and ecology of Panama & Costa Rica.
By mid afternoon our destination was Rio Rincon. This time the tide allowed us to reach at least a couple of miles up river where tiger herons, whimbrels, and basilisk lizards were the main witnesses of our exploration. Meanwhile another group of guests went kayaking or walking, discovering new interactions between the flora and fauna of the area.
With the sunset the rain came; a rainbow illuminated our eyes with the most amazing colors and although a little wet, our spirit was full of enjoyment.
