The southern Pacific shoreline of Costa Rica is as isolated as an oceanic island. The peninsula we were yesterday and the beautiful gulf we are today are amongst the least visited areas within this region. Neither place is easily accessible and require several hours of driving, domestic flights or hours of boat rides; therefore they are our quintessential stops.
The Golfo Dulce translates to “sweet water gulf”, though in the early Spanish days it was thought to be a lake because of its narrow opening to the sea, and the many rivers that flow fresh waters into it. Now we know it is a unique place worldwide, the Golfo Dulce was mislabeled as a tropical fjord.
Golfo Dulce reaches a depth of 700 feet, and this is why it was known as a tropical fjord, despite of its name, it is actually an accident of plate tectonics. The continental plate Cocos beneath the Caribbean raised the mountain behind the gulf and at the same time, the land in between the Osa Peninsula. Those mountains collapsed creating the deep gulf we are exploring today.
Our first outing took place in Casa Orquideas, a small botanical garden owned by a couple of expatriates from the United States, Ron and Trudy. They bought the property almost 30 years ago and started their living from what they could plant and harvest. Today they make a living from travelers that want to enjoy the beauty of tropical plants and birds.
After our guided walks, jumping in the ocean was the preferred cooling strategy and paddle boarding was the big hit… so many new experiences took place this morning. For the afternoon, the pace was set for exploration, either by expedition landing craft cruises or kayaking through the mangroves of Tigre River. Lush green mangrove trees thrive in these brackish environments providing the environment for many waters birds, like sandpipers, herons, pelicans, but the ones that caught our eyes were the gorgeous pink roseate spoonbills along with the duller colored, but impressive camouflaged commom pottoo. Both were unique in their own way, one by being so flashy and the other by being so incognito! And so another day in paradise went by, tomorrow another country waits for us, Panama here we come.
