Manuel Antonio and the Osa Peninsula
Yesterday we boarded our new home for the week, the Sea Voyager, in the port of Herradura in Costa Rica. Many of us had already spent three days in this marvelous country, exploring the inland cloud forests and other areas. For others however, it was the first impact with the Neotropics, an area of unparalleled physical beauty and biological diversity.
Exploring a country by land is very important, and one encompasses much of the country; however there are certain areas that are unreachable except by ship, and our cruise through Costa Rica and Panama takes us through the most spectacular of these most remote of places.
Our first port of call was one visited by many people, due to its accessibility. Manuel Antonio National Park is the smallest park in Costa Rica, yet by far the most popular. It comprises spectacular white beaches and dense forest with an over-abundance of wildlife. Its one downfall is this accessibility, which means that as the day progresses it becomes very crowded indeed. We have managed to circumvent this by disembarking very early, before people start entering the park and when the wildlife is at its best. This was very rewarding this week, as we saw several sloths of both species, including a female three-toed sloth and its baby. A troop of inquisitive and highly intelligent white-throated capuchins also passed us by, on an energetic foray through the surrounding vegetation. This amazing sighting delighted the beholders, yet at the same time brought a touch of sadness, as within the troop was a female monkey hopefully carrying its dead baby with it.
On leaving Manuel Antonio behind, we prepared for the trip ahead with briefings on snorkeling and kayaking before lunch, after which we all kept a stubborn watch on the still waters for signs of life. And were we ever rewarded! Naturalist Carlos spotted a plume in the distance: humpback whales! And what a display we received. Three whales and many dolphins of two species, intensively feeding. Surfacing, breaching, lob-tailing and diving were many of the behaviours we observed among these leviathans of the deep. We were absolutely blown away by the display, and celebrated afterwards with sunset cocktails on a beautiful beach of black sand bordered by dense tropical vegetation, set against a vibrant crimson backdrop.
Could we have had a better day?
Yesterday we boarded our new home for the week, the Sea Voyager, in the port of Herradura in Costa Rica. Many of us had already spent three days in this marvelous country, exploring the inland cloud forests and other areas. For others however, it was the first impact with the Neotropics, an area of unparalleled physical beauty and biological diversity.
Exploring a country by land is very important, and one encompasses much of the country; however there are certain areas that are unreachable except by ship, and our cruise through Costa Rica and Panama takes us through the most spectacular of these most remote of places.
Our first port of call was one visited by many people, due to its accessibility. Manuel Antonio National Park is the smallest park in Costa Rica, yet by far the most popular. It comprises spectacular white beaches and dense forest with an over-abundance of wildlife. Its one downfall is this accessibility, which means that as the day progresses it becomes very crowded indeed. We have managed to circumvent this by disembarking very early, before people start entering the park and when the wildlife is at its best. This was very rewarding this week, as we saw several sloths of both species, including a female three-toed sloth and its baby. A troop of inquisitive and highly intelligent white-throated capuchins also passed us by, on an energetic foray through the surrounding vegetation. This amazing sighting delighted the beholders, yet at the same time brought a touch of sadness, as within the troop was a female monkey hopefully carrying its dead baby with it.
On leaving Manuel Antonio behind, we prepared for the trip ahead with briefings on snorkeling and kayaking before lunch, after which we all kept a stubborn watch on the still waters for signs of life. And were we ever rewarded! Naturalist Carlos spotted a plume in the distance: humpback whales! And what a display we received. Three whales and many dolphins of two species, intensively feeding. Surfacing, breaching, lob-tailing and diving were many of the behaviours we observed among these leviathans of the deep. We were absolutely blown away by the display, and celebrated afterwards with sunset cocktails on a beautiful beach of black sand bordered by dense tropical vegetation, set against a vibrant crimson backdrop.
Could we have had a better day?
