Golfo Dulce, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
A serene and colorful sunrise welcomed us into the Golfo Dulce. This tropical fjord is one of the deepest gulfs in the New World tropics. Our morning destination was Casa Orquidea botanical garden, found on the north-eastern side of the Gulf. This property of 70 acres is preserved by the McAllister family and acts as a living genetic bank that indulged us in its realm of tropical flowers, trees and plants.
As we entered the gardens, Ron, the owner, welcomed us; then we started to explore the trails enjoying the color display of plants along with a few birds too. Green honeycreepers, Cherrie’s tanagers, yellow-throated euphonias and even a few chestnut-mandibled toucans illuminated our binoculars with colors as we observed them. Subsequently, as the day got warmer we had the chance to cool off by swimming from the stern of the Sea Voyager.
Our afternoon activities included a great presentation by Frank Garita on insect strategies and camouflage. The pictures in his presentation awed us, as we admired the disguise and cryptic coloration used by living creatures to survive in the green battlefield of the forest. By mid afternoon, our outings included a kayak and Zodiac visit to the Rio Rincon area. The kayakers paddled to discover, with the rising tide, an important wetland that protects the mangrove forest and its riparian vegetation. During the Zodiac ride, a Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth came to spy on us as we enjoyed nature’s majesty on the Osa Peninsula and Golfo Dulce.
A serene and colorful sunrise welcomed us into the Golfo Dulce. This tropical fjord is one of the deepest gulfs in the New World tropics. Our morning destination was Casa Orquidea botanical garden, found on the north-eastern side of the Gulf. This property of 70 acres is preserved by the McAllister family and acts as a living genetic bank that indulged us in its realm of tropical flowers, trees and plants.
As we entered the gardens, Ron, the owner, welcomed us; then we started to explore the trails enjoying the color display of plants along with a few birds too. Green honeycreepers, Cherrie’s tanagers, yellow-throated euphonias and even a few chestnut-mandibled toucans illuminated our binoculars with colors as we observed them. Subsequently, as the day got warmer we had the chance to cool off by swimming from the stern of the Sea Voyager.
Our afternoon activities included a great presentation by Frank Garita on insect strategies and camouflage. The pictures in his presentation awed us, as we admired the disguise and cryptic coloration used by living creatures to survive in the green battlefield of the forest. By mid afternoon, our outings included a kayak and Zodiac visit to the Rio Rincon area. The kayakers paddled to discover, with the rising tide, an important wetland that protects the mangrove forest and its riparian vegetation. During the Zodiac ride, a Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth came to spy on us as we enjoyed nature’s majesty on the Osa Peninsula and Golfo Dulce.
