Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
The isolation and complete wilderness of this part of Costa Rica never ceases to amaze me, as the Osa Peninsula has some of the largest stretches of completely pristine forest in the country. The neotropics are amongst the most biologically rich areas on earth; yet, odd as it might sound, I have traveled through parts of the immense Amazon Basin and have discovered how unbelievably hard it can be to actually sight animals in a rainforest! I mean, we are competing with millions of years of evolution, where to be detected by creatures with much more sophisticated and well-adapted senses than ours would mean the difference between life and death!
In fact, when walking through a tropical forest, we find that our sense of vision soon becomes overwhelmed with dense, almost monotonous green, but the other senses come alive: smells and sounds abound, and it is through these we realize that we are not alone amongst this explosion of vegetation.
We explored these unique and fascinating tropical ecosystems a number of different ways today. We kayaked or took Zodiac cruises along coastlines and up rivulets, where we saw dozens of shore birds prowling among the convoluted roots systems of the ubiquitous red mangrove: several heron species, ibises, jacanas, whimbrels, plovers and others. We also walked in the vicinity of the tiny village of Rincon, along a dirt road… You may be thinking: “What? Travel to the tropics to walk a dirt road?” Take my word for it – when walking through dense forest it is often excruciatingly difficult to see the creatures that make the sounds you are hearing, but the open areas that border roads or rivers are perfect for wildlife sightings. In fact, we managed to see two sloth species and unforgettable tropical birds such as parrots, macaws, toucans, tanagers, manakins and countless more.
Once back on board, we repositioned and spent the hottest hours of the day in the best possible fashion: swimming off the stern of the ship or from the long black beach we were anchored off, whilst the wonderful children traveling with us this week had an amazing time as our crew dragged them along behind a Zodiac on a banana boat!
As the weather cooled in the afternoon, we visited a beautiful botanical garden – Casa Orquideas. Here, the unnaturally high concentration of flowering plants such as orchids and heliconias are magnets to birds and mammals, and we had a wonderful time searching for yet more wildlife. I was almost moved to tears by my very first sighting of a beautiful little northern Tamandua (ant-eater) that was hunting for grubs amongst the palms and neighboring trees.
I have been working here for a couple of years now, and still I see something new every week – life is always unpredictable in the tropics!
The isolation and complete wilderness of this part of Costa Rica never ceases to amaze me, as the Osa Peninsula has some of the largest stretches of completely pristine forest in the country. The neotropics are amongst the most biologically rich areas on earth; yet, odd as it might sound, I have traveled through parts of the immense Amazon Basin and have discovered how unbelievably hard it can be to actually sight animals in a rainforest! I mean, we are competing with millions of years of evolution, where to be detected by creatures with much more sophisticated and well-adapted senses than ours would mean the difference between life and death!
In fact, when walking through a tropical forest, we find that our sense of vision soon becomes overwhelmed with dense, almost monotonous green, but the other senses come alive: smells and sounds abound, and it is through these we realize that we are not alone amongst this explosion of vegetation.
We explored these unique and fascinating tropical ecosystems a number of different ways today. We kayaked or took Zodiac cruises along coastlines and up rivulets, where we saw dozens of shore birds prowling among the convoluted roots systems of the ubiquitous red mangrove: several heron species, ibises, jacanas, whimbrels, plovers and others. We also walked in the vicinity of the tiny village of Rincon, along a dirt road… You may be thinking: “What? Travel to the tropics to walk a dirt road?” Take my word for it – when walking through dense forest it is often excruciatingly difficult to see the creatures that make the sounds you are hearing, but the open areas that border roads or rivers are perfect for wildlife sightings. In fact, we managed to see two sloth species and unforgettable tropical birds such as parrots, macaws, toucans, tanagers, manakins and countless more.
Once back on board, we repositioned and spent the hottest hours of the day in the best possible fashion: swimming off the stern of the ship or from the long black beach we were anchored off, whilst the wonderful children traveling with us this week had an amazing time as our crew dragged them along behind a Zodiac on a banana boat!
As the weather cooled in the afternoon, we visited a beautiful botanical garden – Casa Orquideas. Here, the unnaturally high concentration of flowering plants such as orchids and heliconias are magnets to birds and mammals, and we had a wonderful time searching for yet more wildlife. I was almost moved to tears by my very first sighting of a beautiful little northern Tamandua (ant-eater) that was hunting for grubs amongst the palms and neighboring trees.
I have been working here for a couple of years now, and still I see something new every week – life is always unpredictable in the tropics!
