Corcovado National Park
Sunrise found the Sea Voyager anchored in front of Corcovado National Park, on the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Corcovado was our morning destination: a spectacular national park that comprises 41,788 hectares of shallow lagoons, marshes, mangrove swamps, rivers, rainforest, a low altitude cloud forest and 46 km of sandy coast.
We spent many fascinating hours this morning exploring the rich rainforests of Corcovado, where we encountered much wildlife, among which were white-faced capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, chestnut-mandibled toucan, scarlet macaws and many other species of colorful animals.
During the afternoon we repositioned a few miles north of Corcovado, where the crew had prepared a beach barbecue for us. After this special treat, some practiced the art of relaxation while the more adventurous joined a horseback expedition of the coast.
All of us were impressed with the beauty of the rainforest creatures and the spectacular trees, but most of all we were amazed by an encounter with a fer-de-lance snake. The fer-de-lance is one of 18 species of poisonous snakes present in Costa Rica, and is the one responsible for most of the 800 snake bites reported a year in Costa Rica. This snake is really designed as a killing machine: it has a coloration that renders it almost invisible on the forest floor. Its head possesses two little holes right above the nose, which are the reason why this type of vipers are called pit vipers. The pits can sense small changes in temperature that allow the snake to detect the presence of the animals around. The fer-de-lance can sense the presence of a small mouse 10 meters away in the forest! Once the animal is within reach, the snake will attack by surprise. Its bite can inject several cubic centimeters of cito-toxic poison into its victim. This poison can cause necrosis of the skin. Usually the animal will die within minutes.
Although these snakes are potentially dangerous and deserve respect and caution, the possibility of a visitor getting bitten by a snake while hiking in the forest is almost none. Most of the accidents that happen with poisonous snakes are the result of an intrusive behavior from careless people that try to grab the snake or bother it in some other way. Although we saw the fer-de-lance and were close enough to take pictures of it, the snake never made any attempt to bite any of us. Given that people are too big to be considered prey by the fer-de-lance, the snake will only attack a human out of self-defense. There is a much higher chance to die on any street in any major city of the world than on a hike into the rainforest.
Sunrise found the Sea Voyager anchored in front of Corcovado National Park, on the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Corcovado was our morning destination: a spectacular national park that comprises 41,788 hectares of shallow lagoons, marshes, mangrove swamps, rivers, rainforest, a low altitude cloud forest and 46 km of sandy coast.
We spent many fascinating hours this morning exploring the rich rainforests of Corcovado, where we encountered much wildlife, among which were white-faced capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, chestnut-mandibled toucan, scarlet macaws and many other species of colorful animals.
During the afternoon we repositioned a few miles north of Corcovado, where the crew had prepared a beach barbecue for us. After this special treat, some practiced the art of relaxation while the more adventurous joined a horseback expedition of the coast.
All of us were impressed with the beauty of the rainforest creatures and the spectacular trees, but most of all we were amazed by an encounter with a fer-de-lance snake. The fer-de-lance is one of 18 species of poisonous snakes present in Costa Rica, and is the one responsible for most of the 800 snake bites reported a year in Costa Rica. This snake is really designed as a killing machine: it has a coloration that renders it almost invisible on the forest floor. Its head possesses two little holes right above the nose, which are the reason why this type of vipers are called pit vipers. The pits can sense small changes in temperature that allow the snake to detect the presence of the animals around. The fer-de-lance can sense the presence of a small mouse 10 meters away in the forest! Once the animal is within reach, the snake will attack by surprise. Its bite can inject several cubic centimeters of cito-toxic poison into its victim. This poison can cause necrosis of the skin. Usually the animal will die within minutes.
Although these snakes are potentially dangerous and deserve respect and caution, the possibility of a visitor getting bitten by a snake while hiking in the forest is almost none. Most of the accidents that happen with poisonous snakes are the result of an intrusive behavior from careless people that try to grab the snake or bother it in some other way. Although we saw the fer-de-lance and were close enough to take pictures of it, the snake never made any attempt to bite any of us. Given that people are too big to be considered prey by the fer-de-lance, the snake will only attack a human out of self-defense. There is a much higher chance to die on any street in any major city of the world than on a hike into the rainforest.
