Playa Caletas & Corcovado National Park
After spending the night anchored in the calm waters of Drake’s Bay, National Geographic Sea Lion weighed anchor and navigated towards our morning destination. Up on the sun deck a group of guests joined our wellness specialist Susan for their daily stretching as we cruised. Spectacular scenery could be seen from the ship. A lush forest was revealed to us as we approached Playa Caletas.
On shore, a group of horses waited eagerly to take some of our guests through forest trails and to enjoy the shoreline of the Osa Peninsula. So, as soon we finished our breakfast, we grabbed our gear and went ashore. We landed on a private property, whose owner we kindly call “Van Van.” On his property are trails that lead to a spectacular primary growth forest. Those who didn’t go horseback riding went hiking and walking to explore this forest.
It was a morning loaded with adventure and learning. At our return to our station, a troop of white-faced capuchin monkeys decide to pay us a visit. Curious about their behavior, we gathered under a mango tree to watch them closely. The monkeys paid less attention to us since foraging was lot more important to them. Slaty-tailed trogons and black-throated trogons sang as the monkeys passed next to them.
Our hotel manager Erasmo Estripeaut and the galley had prepared a delicious barbecue lunch for us. So we gathered around the picnic tables to enjoy the meal and share our unique experience in this tropical rain forest. We had to recharge our batteries since the afternoon had more activities to enjoy.
The afternoon activities were held at San Pedrillo Station. This station is part of Costa Rica’s most pristine jewel, Corcovado National Park. This park was established in 1975 to protect 103,259 acres of tropical rain forest. With this vast land, animals can roam without fear of being hunted.
We divided in groups to explore the different trails. A group went along a trail that follows the shoreline; troops of spider and howler monkeys were their major sightings. Another group decided to take a trail that leads to a great reward. As lush as it can be, the rain forest is also quite humid. But at the end of the trail, a nice waterfall invited us to refresh ourselves.
At the end of the day, we all agreed that it is an important task that we all have in terms of conserving what we still have. It was another awesome day in a great paradise!
