The last day of our journey was the perfect end to the expedition. When you think of Costa Rica, there is a direct association to wildlife and forests.
As we woke up, National Geographic Quest dropped anchor at the Gulf of Nicoya. After breakfast we started disembarking to discover the beauty of Curu Wildlife Refuge. When you start a hike with a sighting of a collared anteater, you can only expect the best. These amazing creatures feed on termites and have a lesson to teach us: when they find a resource they take only as much as they need. This allows the resource to recover, so they don’t run out of it.
Some of our wildlife observations included: white-tailed deer, white-nosed coatis, agoutis, spiny-tailed ctenosaur lizards, a collared peccary (another rare sighting!), white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, a crocodile, variegated squirrels, scarlet macaws, a squirrel cuckoo, and northern jacanas. This gives you an idea of the abundance of flora and fauna that this magnificent preserved area encloses.
In the afternoon we visited paradisiac Tortuga Island. We had the place to ourselves to take dance lessons and to swim; we enjoyed some drinks and snacks prepared by the galley team, and saw the beautiful sunset to end our expedition!
