Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
This morning our merciless Expedition Leader woke us up at 6:00 a.m. to get us ready to explore San Pedrillo, the northernmost ranger’s station within the Corcovado National Park which is one of the jewels in the Costa Rican Park network. It is one of the last and largest pristine pieces of land left, not only in this country, but in all of Mesoamerica.
We were to choose between four different hikes: two long ones, a medium one, and a flat long one; while some of our guests had their own plans for a fishing excursion. Two of these hikes ended at a water hole and the other ones in a river, but both were excellent opportunities to take a dip. Our early morning walks rewarded us with sightings of howler monkeys, spider monkeys, Central American agoutis, white-nosed coatis, Central American dwarf squirrel, and many species of birds.
At around 11:00 am we all got back on board and the Captain repositioned the ship to a small privately owned piece of land on a cove called Caletas where its owner, Enrique, welcomed us and wished us a Happy New Year. Our wonderful galley prepared a picnic lunch on the beach, which we ate voraciously. After lunch our horses arrived! The group was split into two shifts, 12 people at a time took the local small horses into a trail along the beach. White-throated capuchin monkeys were the sighting of the afternoon, some would think of it as too much of a close encounter! Those of us who remained at the landing beach were visited by a couple of scarlet macaws. Plus, swimming in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, what a perfect end to an active day!
This morning our merciless Expedition Leader woke us up at 6:00 a.m. to get us ready to explore San Pedrillo, the northernmost ranger’s station within the Corcovado National Park which is one of the jewels in the Costa Rican Park network. It is one of the last and largest pristine pieces of land left, not only in this country, but in all of Mesoamerica.
We were to choose between four different hikes: two long ones, a medium one, and a flat long one; while some of our guests had their own plans for a fishing excursion. Two of these hikes ended at a water hole and the other ones in a river, but both were excellent opportunities to take a dip. Our early morning walks rewarded us with sightings of howler monkeys, spider monkeys, Central American agoutis, white-nosed coatis, Central American dwarf squirrel, and many species of birds.
At around 11:00 am we all got back on board and the Captain repositioned the ship to a small privately owned piece of land on a cove called Caletas where its owner, Enrique, welcomed us and wished us a Happy New Year. Our wonderful galley prepared a picnic lunch on the beach, which we ate voraciously. After lunch our horses arrived! The group was split into two shifts, 12 people at a time took the local small horses into a trail along the beach. White-throated capuchin monkeys were the sighting of the afternoon, some would think of it as too much of a close encounter! Those of us who remained at the landing beach were visited by a couple of scarlet macaws. Plus, swimming in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, what a perfect end to an active day!
