Casa Orquideas & Rio Rincon
Last night we navigated from Panama to Costa Rica. We woke up anchored in front of Golfito, a small town in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. This region is known for its high humidity and great biodiversity. The waters of Golfo Dulce are deep and calm, this gulf is a tectonic depression, one of the few tropical fjords in the world. After clearing customs in Golfito, we repositioned the Sea Voyager to visit Casa Orquideas (Orchid House), an amazing collection of tropical plants including over 130 species of orchids. This project belongs to Ron and Trudy MacAllister, a couple from the US that moved to this part of the world almost 30 years ago.
The place is truly a piece of paradise, full of plants from all over the tropics, giant trees and exotic plants with flowers of vibrant colors. Such gardens are home to some of the most colorful and diverse butterflies and birds, so you do get the sense that these gardens are full of life. As we walked around the paths, we were lucky enough to admire Sobralias, large orchids with violet flowers that last only one day. The trees here are full of epiphytes, plants that grow on others to get close to the sun. Such trees definitely add to the lush look of the place. We saw different species of flycatchers, such as the gray capped and the great kiskadee. There was a tree were a couple of common toddy flycatchers were building a nest, same as a pair of house wrens. The birds were actively wandering around the gardens, some catching insects or eating berries, others flying over the area, such as a white hawk or a group of scarlet macaws in the deep blue sky.
After exploring the gardens, the guests had a chance to take a dip in the warm waters of Golfo Dulce from the stern. Later, after lunch, Dr. Jonathan Coddington gave an interesting lecture on the life of spiders. For the late afternoon activities we had kayaking, Zodiac cruises, and also a walk to Rio Rincon. This river is located at the far end of the gulf and is surrounded by mangroves, one of the many protected ecosystems of Costa Rica. Here we had opportunity to see chestnut mandibled toucans, ringed kingfishers, mangrove hummingbirds and yellow billed cotingas; these birds are not easy to spot since they are normally found in the tall canopy of Rincon.
Once back on board we got ready for our traditional recaps and colorful sunset at cocktail hour.
Last night we navigated from Panama to Costa Rica. We woke up anchored in front of Golfito, a small town in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. This region is known for its high humidity and great biodiversity. The waters of Golfo Dulce are deep and calm, this gulf is a tectonic depression, one of the few tropical fjords in the world. After clearing customs in Golfito, we repositioned the Sea Voyager to visit Casa Orquideas (Orchid House), an amazing collection of tropical plants including over 130 species of orchids. This project belongs to Ron and Trudy MacAllister, a couple from the US that moved to this part of the world almost 30 years ago.
The place is truly a piece of paradise, full of plants from all over the tropics, giant trees and exotic plants with flowers of vibrant colors. Such gardens are home to some of the most colorful and diverse butterflies and birds, so you do get the sense that these gardens are full of life. As we walked around the paths, we were lucky enough to admire Sobralias, large orchids with violet flowers that last only one day. The trees here are full of epiphytes, plants that grow on others to get close to the sun. Such trees definitely add to the lush look of the place. We saw different species of flycatchers, such as the gray capped and the great kiskadee. There was a tree were a couple of common toddy flycatchers were building a nest, same as a pair of house wrens. The birds were actively wandering around the gardens, some catching insects or eating berries, others flying over the area, such as a white hawk or a group of scarlet macaws in the deep blue sky.
After exploring the gardens, the guests had a chance to take a dip in the warm waters of Golfo Dulce from the stern. Later, after lunch, Dr. Jonathan Coddington gave an interesting lecture on the life of spiders. For the late afternoon activities we had kayaking, Zodiac cruises, and also a walk to Rio Rincon. This river is located at the far end of the gulf and is surrounded by mangroves, one of the many protected ecosystems of Costa Rica. Here we had opportunity to see chestnut mandibled toucans, ringed kingfishers, mangrove hummingbirds and yellow billed cotingas; these birds are not easy to spot since they are normally found in the tall canopy of Rincon.
Once back on board we got ready for our traditional recaps and colorful sunset at cocktail hour.
