It’s our first day exploring the beautiful region of Guanacaste on the northern Pacific side of Costa Rica. Guanacaste is covered with a tropical deciduous forest that grows right up to the coast. During half the year, the forest is lush and green with an amazing biodiversity of plants. In the other half of the year, the trees of the forest lose their leaves. This morning, we experienced a warm tropical rain, typical at the end of the rainy season, but it did not stop us from getting out to explore. From the port side of National Geographic Quest, we saw a humpback whale breaching in the distance. We watched the whale from Zodiacs as we headed to land to explore a local beach.
In the afternoon, we headed north to Playa Huevos to explore the forest more closely, and we were greeted with wildlife, from howler monkeys to coatis. We entered the nearby mangroves by Zodiac and kayaks. Mangroves line much of the Costa Rica Pacific coast, and they are a great place to enjoy the many bird species that live in the area. It was a great start to our trip here in Guanacaste!
