Corcovado National Park and Playa Caletas, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
About one fourth of the Costa Rican territory is made up of national parks and protected areas. In the 1970’s Costa Rica became seriously committed to the conservation of its natural resources. Ever since, numerous areas have been added to the National System of Parks and Protected Areas. Corcovado National Park was created in 1975 and is one of the most precious parks in the country’s extensive preserves. One of the reasons Corcovado is so special is the fact that its access is restricted to visitors who come either by sea or a complicated trip which involves planes, cars and boats. This difficult access has protected the park from massive visits of tourists and only the serious nature lovers visit it.
This morning, we disembarked at San Pedrillo beach and proceeded into Corcovado National Park. The trails were well kept but yet we felt we were visiting an Amazonian forest. We walked across streams and rivers and swam in a pond by a waterfall while looking for wild life. We encountered capuchin monkeys and several species of birds and reptiles but the forest itself is what is really breathtaking.
At noon the ship was repositioned in Drake Bay where the crew offered us a BBQ lunch. We had the opportunity of horseback riding, hiking through the trails of a private preserve or simply enjoy ourselves hanging out on the beach.
Since New Years Eve will be our last night onboard we celebrated the arrival of 2005 on this night with salsa, fireworks and a lot of noise.
About one fourth of the Costa Rican territory is made up of national parks and protected areas. In the 1970’s Costa Rica became seriously committed to the conservation of its natural resources. Ever since, numerous areas have been added to the National System of Parks and Protected Areas. Corcovado National Park was created in 1975 and is one of the most precious parks in the country’s extensive preserves. One of the reasons Corcovado is so special is the fact that its access is restricted to visitors who come either by sea or a complicated trip which involves planes, cars and boats. This difficult access has protected the park from massive visits of tourists and only the serious nature lovers visit it.
This morning, we disembarked at San Pedrillo beach and proceeded into Corcovado National Park. The trails were well kept but yet we felt we were visiting an Amazonian forest. We walked across streams and rivers and swam in a pond by a waterfall while looking for wild life. We encountered capuchin monkeys and several species of birds and reptiles but the forest itself is what is really breathtaking.
At noon the ship was repositioned in Drake Bay where the crew offered us a BBQ lunch. We had the opportunity of horseback riding, hiking through the trails of a private preserve or simply enjoy ourselves hanging out on the beach.
Since New Years Eve will be our last night onboard we celebrated the arrival of 2005 on this night with salsa, fireworks and a lot of noise.
