San Josecito and Drake Bay, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
After a smooth crossing to the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, we dropped our anchor in the Bay of San Josecito and prepared to explore this area. The Osa Peninsula reaches out of southwestern Costa Rica into the Pacific Ocean. Historically it has been one of the most remote areas of the country, unknown to most Costa Ricans. The virgin rainforests here receive 160 inches of precipitation a year, and hosts an incredible variety of tropical flora and fauna.
The peninsula has been the site of much ecological destruction by settlers, log cutters and gold miners but with the creation of the Corcovado National Park in 1975 along with other organizations and local people, much of the region’s natural beauty is now protected.
San Josecito sits inside a little bay that is protected by huge rocks that jut out of the ocean and was the perfect spot for some of us first time snorkelers. But before we even got started on our snorkel or hike of the area, Scarlet Macaws greeted us. These magnificent birds were flying around as if on cue! They were spotted in pairs several times during the course of the morning sitting on the trunks of the coconut trees along the beach or flying overhead.
As the tide went out, so did the snorkelers. Most of the fish life was to be found right off the beach in the ever increasingly shallow water. We spotted eels, triggerfish, butterfly fish, schools of chubs and tangs. All in all, we had a wonderful time splashing about in the almost too warm water.
We once again hoisted anchor and continued on to our next stop- Drake Bay. To our amazement, a Humpback whale decided to cross our path. These whales have very distinctive long flippers and the flukes are often raised on a dive. What a magnificent sight it was as we watched it for some time before it seemed to finally take another course that we weren’t on.
Soon we pulled into Drake Bay and set our anchor. Our kayakers after a head start paddled their way to the mouth of the Rio Agujitas while the rest of us loaded into the Zodiacs and took the easy way out. It is said that Sir Francis Drake first set foot here in 1579. Our intention was to explore the river for birds, reptiles and possibly monkeys. We had sightings of all three. The sunset was incredible as was the day that ended too quickly.
After a smooth crossing to the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, we dropped our anchor in the Bay of San Josecito and prepared to explore this area. The Osa Peninsula reaches out of southwestern Costa Rica into the Pacific Ocean. Historically it has been one of the most remote areas of the country, unknown to most Costa Ricans. The virgin rainforests here receive 160 inches of precipitation a year, and hosts an incredible variety of tropical flora and fauna.
The peninsula has been the site of much ecological destruction by settlers, log cutters and gold miners but with the creation of the Corcovado National Park in 1975 along with other organizations and local people, much of the region’s natural beauty is now protected.
San Josecito sits inside a little bay that is protected by huge rocks that jut out of the ocean and was the perfect spot for some of us first time snorkelers. But before we even got started on our snorkel or hike of the area, Scarlet Macaws greeted us. These magnificent birds were flying around as if on cue! They were spotted in pairs several times during the course of the morning sitting on the trunks of the coconut trees along the beach or flying overhead.
As the tide went out, so did the snorkelers. Most of the fish life was to be found right off the beach in the ever increasingly shallow water. We spotted eels, triggerfish, butterfly fish, schools of chubs and tangs. All in all, we had a wonderful time splashing about in the almost too warm water.
We once again hoisted anchor and continued on to our next stop- Drake Bay. To our amazement, a Humpback whale decided to cross our path. These whales have very distinctive long flippers and the flukes are often raised on a dive. What a magnificent sight it was as we watched it for some time before it seemed to finally take another course that we weren’t on.
Soon we pulled into Drake Bay and set our anchor. Our kayakers after a head start paddled their way to the mouth of the Rio Agujitas while the rest of us loaded into the Zodiacs and took the easy way out. It is said that Sir Francis Drake first set foot here in 1579. Our intention was to explore the river for birds, reptiles and possibly monkeys. We had sightings of all three. The sunset was incredible as was the day that ended too quickly.
