Playa Caletas & Corcovado National Park
Today we had a day full of adventure and rewards in the Osa Peninsula, located on the Southern Pacific side of Costa Rica. Our day started with stretching lessons up on the sundeck, while the sun was rising in Drake Bay. The orange quality of the sun gave a golden tone to the surroundings, a great light for photography.
Right after breakfast, we landed at Caletas Beach, a privately owned reserve in front of the beach, with an impressive rainforest behind it. We had a group that went horseback riding along a trail, parallel to the beach. The rest of us were divided into groups to explore the grounds. Among the highlights of our morning walks were the groups of scarlet macaws, up to sixteen of them flying together, or perching on trees and eating fruit. These birds are so colorful and noisy that it is impossible to ignore them. We also found nesting pairs of common black-hawks, masked tityras and golden-naped woodpeckers. Another very attractive bird species was the red-legged honeycreeper, blue body with light blue cap, yellow underwings and bright red legs. These birds feed on nectar from the flowers up on the trees and we had the opportunity to see three of them together.
The crew of the National Geographic Sea Lion prepared a great picnic lunch on the beach for all of us. It was just perfect, with a beach breeze and view, while macaws and trogons flew around us.
After lunch, we repositioned to Corcovado National Park and landed at San Pedrillo station. Corcovado is a unique rainforest in Costa Rica, and contains an impressive amount of species. For example, there are up to 200 different types of trees per hectare (around 100 per football field), providing a habitat for many animals. Another thing that makes this park attractive is the fact that it has very few visitors, for it is one of the most remote forests in the country.
We had two options this afternoon, a waterfall walk or a flatter walk along the beach trail. While walking the trails, we found mantled howler monkeys, spider monkeys, great currasaws, long-nosed coatis and a forest experience similar to the one the first conquerors of the Americas found.
Everyone had a great day, closing with recaps and cocktail hour.
