Early in the morning, we smoothly entered the very deep and calm waters of Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica. The sun was about to come out over the densely forested hills when National Geographic Quest docked at the old rusty pier of Golfito.

After breakfast, some of our guests went out to explore the beautiful, pristine coastline using our kayaks and trusty Zodiacs. We spotted noisy howler monkeys in the canopy and interesting birds such as the elusive mangrove cuckoo.

In the afternoon, we repositioned to a nearby sector of Rio Seco for walks in the tropical rainforest. At Rio Seco, we had great sightings of noisy, large, and colorful scarlet macaws, yellow-throated toucans, and agile little red-backed squirrel monkeys.

In all, a wonderful first day in Costa Rica. Costa Rica never disappoints!