Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
Our introduction to the Osa Peninsula began last night, where we explored a small river and riparian forests. Today we had the opportunity to explore it even more in depth, walking the trails of Caletas Bay and San Pedrillo ranger’s station at Corcovado National Park. This is one of the best kept rainforests of the Mesoamerican area, and presents one of the highest diversity rates of the region as well. Diversity is defined by the number of species present in a certain area, and to tell the truth, in an environment like the tropics, where nature reaches its fullest expression, whether measured by sheer numbers of species or by the complexity of their interactions, numbers are a strange factor. There are high numbers of species, but few numbers of individuals of each species.
To the untrained eye, the legendary diversity of the tropical rainforest may seem imperceptible; apart from a few tall trees, buttress roots, a few palms, lianas, and the occasional insect, the forest looks the same in all directions. Yet, the diversity is there; most of it hidden in subtle ways. Hundreds of bird species can occur in a few hectares, but the numbers of each species are only a tenth of the norm in northern forests. Even the shrewd observer does not discover all the species in a day, a week or even a month. The rewards of persistence are almost limitless; but one single day’s visit will never achieve all its glory. One can always say, and say again, that they have had a great day in the Neotropics, when you see in one same day: howler, capuchin, and spider monkeys, three toed sloths, agoutis, white lipped peccary, leaf cutter and army ants, American crocodile, basilisk and anolis lizards, red tailed squirrel, greater bulldog fishing bats, white nosed coati and a mother humpback whale with her older offspring and young calf.
Corcovado National Park lived up to its reputation and the high expectations we all have of tropical rainforests. We ended our day anchored right outside Drake’s Bay watching bulldog fishing bats catch their loot for the night. We all went to bed with a smile on our faces hardly waiting for tomorrow’s surprises.
