Golfo Dulce, Casa Orquideas Botanical Gardens Costa Rica
As we tucked into Golfo Dulce, our last stop in Costa Rica, we continued to see the protected southern pacific rain forest, virtually an untouched landscape. We dropped anchor at Casa Orquideas, botanical garden owned and run by Ron and Trudy Mc Callister who migrated in the mid 1970’s from Laconia New Hampshire to this emerald corner of the world they call home.
Their gifted green thumb and creative eyes have produced a dazzling maze of colors, loaded with special local plants heliconias, palms and fruit tree that attract vibrantly colored birds from the surrounding mountainous rain forest. Our guest enjoyed taking photographs of this garden and birds like Chestnut-mandible Toucans, Golden hooded tanagers, Cherries tanagers and yellow crowned euphonias, while scarlet macaws flew overhead.
We repositioned in the afternoon to Banana town in Golfito. Once known as a United Fruit Company strong hold, it now thrives as a bunkering port mixed in with fishing lodges and high level yachts ready to hit the open ocean. We offered our guests a Zodiac cruise to visit the mangrove and rain forest that overpowers the port today. Much to anyone’s surprise this areas is teeming with wild life assessable to our photographers on board. Our stellar Zodiac drivers put us in arm’s length as we heard the rapid shutter fire of cameras on a boa constrictor. Not far away, we cropped on forest edge rocks were the ruddy turnstones, who would not leave their perch, produced fantastic shots. The afternoon was full with wildlife; mantle backed howlers, white face capuchins, spectacular size Green iguanas and congregated white ibis on top the green palm fronds. It was a great way to end our journey in Costa Rica!
