Rancho Los Inocentes, Guanacaste Conservation Area, Costa Rica
Today we awoke in a beautiful protected bay in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region, ready for adventure! We went ashore near Cuajiniquil (Kwaa-hin-ee-keel), and took a bus to Rancho Los Innocentes. This ranch is quite old, and originally covered more than 15,000 acres. Today it is reduced to a “mere” 3000 acres, and has shifted from ranching to eco-tourism, taking advantage of the corridors of land that have remained undeveloped over the years. This ranch sits at the foot of “Volcán Orosi,” a stunning stratovolcano that has provided the soil which makes the area so fertile, and which dominates the landscape throughout the ranch.
We had the choice of horseback or open-air tractor-pulled cart as our transportation into and around the forest, and the trails seemed to offer endless possibilities. Although it had been a while since some of us were up in the saddle, the well-trained and sure-footed horses allowed us to concentrate on the natural beauty all around us. Those on the tractor rode around the edges of the forest, but everyone enjoyed the Guanacaste display. We observed numerous birds including the keel-billed toucan and, notably, a gray-necked woodrail. This bird has not often been observed in the area, and never, to our knowledge, on the ground of the Rancho proper. We also glimpsed a two-toed tree sloth, and three varieties of monkey: howler, spider, and white-throated. The flora was equally stupendous, and it included a truly imposing strangler fig tree, a relative of the ficus.
We returned to the Hacienda for an excellent barbequed lunch, and headed back to the shore of the bay where the Sea Voyager was anchored. After a “brief” discussion with some local authorities who rode by on their bicycles and were curious about the ship, we were back in the Zodiacs and headed for the sundeck for cocktail hour. As we sailed for about an hour to our night mooring, this was the perfect capstone to a truly exciting day. With a few dolphins off the starboard, clouds capping the volcanoes behind, and the sun setting in front of us, the sky was painted in hues of orange and blue, and the relaxing atmosphere allowed us to wash away the cares of the day. As the colors faded to dark blues and purples, there was only one concern: tomorrow is our last day in this wonderful, amazing place!
