Borinquen, Hacienda Los Inocentes and Bahia Santa Elena
This morning we had an early start from the paradisiacal Hotel Borinquen. Breakfast was served at 6:30 and we then boarded our motor coach, which was to take us to our next destination: Hacienda Los Inocentes. Just a few minutes after departing, we spotted orange-chinned parakeets and had to stop for a while to observe a troop of mantled howler monkeys and a keel-billed toucan: not a bad introduction to the fauna of the tropics! The bus took us through part of the Guanacaste National Park, a large area that was deforested some fifty years ago and is now in process of regeneration. In 1989 the Costa Rican government created this national park in an attempt to develop a biological corridor which would link the Santa Rosa National Park (the last remnant of tropical dry forest in Central America) and the highlands of the Guanacaste Volcanic Mountain Range. Nowadays, the importance of this park has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the three World Heritage Sites in Costa Rica (the other two being Cocos Island and the International Park of “La Amistad”). Both Borinquen and Los Inocentes Haciendas are working ranches which contribute part of their estate to the conservation efforts of Guanacaste.
Upon our arrival at Los Inocentes we proceeded to divide our party into horseback riders and cart riders. We all enjoyed the lush vegetation of the pre-montane forest, which was greener than ever since this is the rainy season in Costa Rica. The abundance of fruits on the trees gave us the opportunity to see two types of monkeys: white-throated capuchin monkeys sharing their space on a ficus tree with spider monkeys. Montezuma oropendolas, magpie jays, toucans and a two-toed sloth also appeared along our paths.
Back in the Hacienda house, we had a BBQ lunch and proceeded to Cuajiniquil where we boarded the Sea Voyager, which set off to Bahia Santa Elena as soon as we were all installed in our cabins. Here we had the chance to take our first swim or kayak outing in the Pacific Ocean, off the stern of the ship, or go on a Zodiac ride along the coast.
This morning we had an early start from the paradisiacal Hotel Borinquen. Breakfast was served at 6:30 and we then boarded our motor coach, which was to take us to our next destination: Hacienda Los Inocentes. Just a few minutes after departing, we spotted orange-chinned parakeets and had to stop for a while to observe a troop of mantled howler monkeys and a keel-billed toucan: not a bad introduction to the fauna of the tropics! The bus took us through part of the Guanacaste National Park, a large area that was deforested some fifty years ago and is now in process of regeneration. In 1989 the Costa Rican government created this national park in an attempt to develop a biological corridor which would link the Santa Rosa National Park (the last remnant of tropical dry forest in Central America) and the highlands of the Guanacaste Volcanic Mountain Range. Nowadays, the importance of this park has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the three World Heritage Sites in Costa Rica (the other two being Cocos Island and the International Park of “La Amistad”). Both Borinquen and Los Inocentes Haciendas are working ranches which contribute part of their estate to the conservation efforts of Guanacaste.
Upon our arrival at Los Inocentes we proceeded to divide our party into horseback riders and cart riders. We all enjoyed the lush vegetation of the pre-montane forest, which was greener than ever since this is the rainy season in Costa Rica. The abundance of fruits on the trees gave us the opportunity to see two types of monkeys: white-throated capuchin monkeys sharing their space on a ficus tree with spider monkeys. Montezuma oropendolas, magpie jays, toucans and a two-toed sloth also appeared along our paths.
Back in the Hacienda house, we had a BBQ lunch and proceeded to Cuajiniquil where we boarded the Sea Voyager, which set off to Bahia Santa Elena as soon as we were all installed in our cabins. Here we had the chance to take our first swim or kayak outing in the Pacific Ocean, off the stern of the ship, or go on a Zodiac ride along the coast.
