The Jewels of Osa Península, Costa Rica
We had the opportunity to start our day with a great sunrise over the forest of Osa Peninsula, located Southwest of Costa Rica. Here the region is known for its remote and pristine forests. After breakfast we had the group divide into horseback riders and hikers.
During the morning we visit Playa Caletas, a private reserve right on the beach, which serves as a buffer zone to Corcovado National Park. As we arrived, the horses were waiting for the riders. They went along a trail that goes into the forest and along the beach; some sections of the trail were so beautiful, with the forest reaching the white sand beach. The destination was Rio Claro, named for its clear waters that form a mirror in the forest over the landscape. The white-faced monkeys crossed paths with the riders as well as the colorful scarlet macaws.
In the meantime the hikers went to explore the forest in the buffer zone of Corcovado, at Playa Caletas private reserve. With so much diversity of plants in Osa Peninsula, it is impossible to forecast what we are going to see, you never know what nature will show us, but we are always sure that we will see some of the 450 species of tropical birds. Colorful red-legged honeycreepers where flying over the canopy of the forest, followed by the green honeycreepers, which are birds that drink the nectar of the flowers of the tree tops. A group of five macaws were gnawing on beach almond seeds, up on the trees, you can tell where they are because of their loud call or the wasted seeds they try to eat.
Later in the morning we came back on board the National Geographic Sea Lion for lunch and to reposition the ship to the waters of Corcovado National Park. During the afternoon we landed in San Pedrillo station where we divided the guests into two groups, one went took the Pargo trail and the other to the trail with a waterfall.
On the Pargo trail the guests got to see howler monkeys, black-throated trogons and pale-billed woodpeckers. Later a band-tailed barbthroat, a species of hummingbird that belongs to a subfamily known as the hermits, started calling in the forest. On the trail to the waterfall of San Pedrillo, we saw a mother spider monkey with a baby that was probably only a few days old. They were high in the trees that surround the river and soon disappeared. Down the river from the bigger waterfall, the guests were able to swim and refresh. As we came out to the beach, the tide had gone high and brown pelicans and royal terns were fishing in the surf while bare-throated tiger herons and great blue egrets were catching their meal from the beach.
To finish the day with a special detail Erasmo Estripaut, our hotel manager, and crew organized the cocktail hour for us up on the sundeck where we enjoyed an amazing sunset.
