After cruising around the Osa Peninsula on the southern end of Costa Rica’s pacific coastline, the National Geographic Quest dropped anchor in front of a calm surf and long sandy beach.
Our day was packed with activities. Some guests visited Kobo Farm, which is known for the production of cacao (chocolate) among other crops. Others went a bit inland to the small town of Rancho Quemado, where they visited a hearts of palm family plantation run by two strong ladies who harvested and sold delicious, freshly cut hearts of palm.
The last destination was a couple of hours away by motor coaches to a Biological Research Station. Just the drive through the lush rainforest was full of great bird sightings: caracaras, parrots, macaws, hawks.
By the time we arrived at the research station, we had already spotted three out of the four monkey species present in the country: the spider monkey named after its long spider-like limbs, the howler monkey, and the white-faced capuchin. And that was not even counting everything we experienced on the trail itself. Towering trees, ancient long twisty vines, thick jungle understory.
After a couple of hours, we returned to the station for a delicious lunch made from ingredients grown or raised on the station’s farm, from the chicken to the tomatoes and cabbage. As we finished our dessert of sweet papaya and watermelon, we were lucky enough to spot an elusive squirrel monkey that was swinging, jumping and doing acrobatic moves in a nearby tree. Spotting Costa Rica’s four monkey species only hours apart in the same forest was more than expected. A fitting end to our last day in Costa Rica.
