Curu Wildlife Refuge
Early this morning we disembarked at Curu Wildlife Refuge, a privately owned refuge on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, in Northern Costa Rica. This area is the southern extreme of the tropical dry forest that extends from Mexico along the Pacific slope of Central America and reaches its southern boundary in the central Pacific area of Costa Rica. Very few acres of this type of forest remain today, and Curu Wildlife Refuge protects part of this endangered ecosystem.
As soon as we reached land, a group of mantled howler monkeys were spotted just a few feet from the beach, among which a mother nursing her young entertained the happy observers as the rest of the group was arriving to shore. This new world primate uses its prehensile tail a lot when feeding: hanging from it as they reach for the young, tender leaves. It is common to find these monkeys resting in branches exposed to the sun.
Most of us headed for the long walk: 2 miles along a beautiful trail that introduces us to mangroves, estuaries and riparian forest. We learned about termites, army ants and colorful butterflies. We were amazed by some of the tropical trees: kapoks with huge buttresses, spiny palm trees, espaveles (members of the cashew nut and mango) and acacias with thorns and extrafloral nectaries (that give shelter and food to ants that in return protect this acacia trees from herbivores). The emerald green juveniles of the spiny-tailed iguana were common sightings and we were surprised by an American crocodile basking in the sun at the creek’s edge.
To finish off this wonderful morning, a pair of scarlet macaws flew into a tropical almond tree to feed. Full of unforgettable memories, we returned to the ship and after a delicious lunch we spent the afternoon at the beach. Snorkeling and kayaking were some of the afternoon activities, in the beautiful warm waters of Pacific Costa Rica.
Early this morning we disembarked at Curu Wildlife Refuge, a privately owned refuge on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, in Northern Costa Rica. This area is the southern extreme of the tropical dry forest that extends from Mexico along the Pacific slope of Central America and reaches its southern boundary in the central Pacific area of Costa Rica. Very few acres of this type of forest remain today, and Curu Wildlife Refuge protects part of this endangered ecosystem.
As soon as we reached land, a group of mantled howler monkeys were spotted just a few feet from the beach, among which a mother nursing her young entertained the happy observers as the rest of the group was arriving to shore. This new world primate uses its prehensile tail a lot when feeding: hanging from it as they reach for the young, tender leaves. It is common to find these monkeys resting in branches exposed to the sun.
Most of us headed for the long walk: 2 miles along a beautiful trail that introduces us to mangroves, estuaries and riparian forest. We learned about termites, army ants and colorful butterflies. We were amazed by some of the tropical trees: kapoks with huge buttresses, spiny palm trees, espaveles (members of the cashew nut and mango) and acacias with thorns and extrafloral nectaries (that give shelter and food to ants that in return protect this acacia trees from herbivores). The emerald green juveniles of the spiny-tailed iguana were common sightings and we were surprised by an American crocodile basking in the sun at the creek’s edge.
To finish off this wonderful morning, a pair of scarlet macaws flew into a tropical almond tree to feed. Full of unforgettable memories, we returned to the ship and after a delicious lunch we spent the afternoon at the beach. Snorkeling and kayaking were some of the afternoon activities, in the beautiful warm waters of Pacific Costa Rica.
