Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
This morning, the lights of the town of Golfito peeked through our windows as we prepared for a third day in paradise. Anyone who was up this morning and took a look outside the window was undoubtedly awed by the lush, green vegetation draping over the blue-green ocean.
Our activities for this third day were planned for inside the Golfo Dulce, the southernmost gulf in Costa Rica. The gulf gets its name from the high amount of fresh water it receives from the many big and small rivers that drain their waters in it. It is also one of the few tropical fjords in the world with a depth of up to 200 meters (some 650 feet deep).
Our early morning visit was to a fantastic garden called Casa Orquidea – the orchid house – but this name can be somewhat misleading. It is not just an orchid garden; it is more like a botanical garden that would make any amateur gardener feel “green with envy.” This bit of Eden on Earth is the result of the effort of an American couple called the McAllisters. Ron and Trudy moved to Costa Rica about 30 years ago and fell in love with the Gulf’s vegetation and began making their own backyard. Little did they know that it would grow into one of the best kept gardens many of us have ever seen.
Indeed, orchids, ferns, palm trees, heliconias, ginger plants, bromeliads, prayer plants and innumerable others welcomed us into their home. We must of course also thank other dwellers of the area such as basilisk lizards, green vine snakes, caterpillars, white hawks, scarlet macaws and about seven toucans for sharing their home with us.
Back on board, some people went back to their rooms for their favorite book and relished on that activity, but others…. Well, others went for a more adrenaline pumping experience: the banana boat or “torpedo blaster,” as it is also called. After a very active pre-lunch schedule, we repositioned the ship across the gulf, towards the Esquinas River.
The word “esquina” literally translates to “the corner,” basically meaning the middle of nowhere. We were able to enjoy the river in two ways: kayaking or Zodiac cruising. Mangrove forests are one of the most important ecosystems in the world; they provide shelter and nursery grounds for many species of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, they buffer brackish water from the tropical forest trees, and they will help secure sand and silt in order to “create” new landmass. In both Costa Rica and Panama mangrove estuaries are protected by law and it is one of the best decisions ever made by both countries!!
As we left the Costa Rican waters, we were certain that Panama could only hold great things for us.
This morning, the lights of the town of Golfito peeked through our windows as we prepared for a third day in paradise. Anyone who was up this morning and took a look outside the window was undoubtedly awed by the lush, green vegetation draping over the blue-green ocean.
Our activities for this third day were planned for inside the Golfo Dulce, the southernmost gulf in Costa Rica. The gulf gets its name from the high amount of fresh water it receives from the many big and small rivers that drain their waters in it. It is also one of the few tropical fjords in the world with a depth of up to 200 meters (some 650 feet deep).
Our early morning visit was to a fantastic garden called Casa Orquidea – the orchid house – but this name can be somewhat misleading. It is not just an orchid garden; it is more like a botanical garden that would make any amateur gardener feel “green with envy.” This bit of Eden on Earth is the result of the effort of an American couple called the McAllisters. Ron and Trudy moved to Costa Rica about 30 years ago and fell in love with the Gulf’s vegetation and began making their own backyard. Little did they know that it would grow into one of the best kept gardens many of us have ever seen.
Indeed, orchids, ferns, palm trees, heliconias, ginger plants, bromeliads, prayer plants and innumerable others welcomed us into their home. We must of course also thank other dwellers of the area such as basilisk lizards, green vine snakes, caterpillars, white hawks, scarlet macaws and about seven toucans for sharing their home with us.
Back on board, some people went back to their rooms for their favorite book and relished on that activity, but others…. Well, others went for a more adrenaline pumping experience: the banana boat or “torpedo blaster,” as it is also called. After a very active pre-lunch schedule, we repositioned the ship across the gulf, towards the Esquinas River.
The word “esquina” literally translates to “the corner,” basically meaning the middle of nowhere. We were able to enjoy the river in two ways: kayaking or Zodiac cruising. Mangrove forests are one of the most important ecosystems in the world; they provide shelter and nursery grounds for many species of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, they buffer brackish water from the tropical forest trees, and they will help secure sand and silt in order to “create” new landmass. In both Costa Rica and Panama mangrove estuaries are protected by law and it is one of the best decisions ever made by both countries!!
As we left the Costa Rican waters, we were certain that Panama could only hold great things for us.
