Curu Wildlife Preserve
We started our trip with a great day at Curu Wildlife Refuge on the inner tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Curu is a wonderful place to visit the dry forest, to enjoy the wildlife and to support important efforts to reintroduce individuals of native species that have been kept in captivity. As we started our walks, some of us were surprised to see a nine banded armadillo. The rufous-nape wrens seemed to want to escort us as they were around us at all times singing their beautiful song. We had a chance to see long nosed bats, variegated squirrels, howler monkeys, kingfishers, woodcreepers, black bellied trogons and scarlet macaws.
We had lunch after a fascinating lecture on history of Central America by Julio Fernandez. A little after lunch the snorkeling briefing was interrupted by humpback whales. We will interrupt anything for whales! This mom (cow) and calf belong to the Antarctica population coming up north for their breeding season.
As we cruised into the sunset we could see black terns. Brown boobies were taking a ride with the ship, giving us a great display of their spectacular flight.
We started our trip with a great day at Curu Wildlife Refuge on the inner tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Curu is a wonderful place to visit the dry forest, to enjoy the wildlife and to support important efforts to reintroduce individuals of native species that have been kept in captivity. As we started our walks, some of us were surprised to see a nine banded armadillo. The rufous-nape wrens seemed to want to escort us as they were around us at all times singing their beautiful song. We had a chance to see long nosed bats, variegated squirrels, howler monkeys, kingfishers, woodcreepers, black bellied trogons and scarlet macaws.
We had lunch after a fascinating lecture on history of Central America by Julio Fernandez. A little after lunch the snorkeling briefing was interrupted by humpback whales. We will interrupt anything for whales! This mom (cow) and calf belong to the Antarctica population coming up north for their breeding season.
As we cruised into the sunset we could see black terns. Brown boobies were taking a ride with the ship, giving us a great display of their spectacular flight.
