Rio Esquinas & Casa Orquideas, Costa Rica
After a great star guessing night with Rick, some of us woke up early enough to try to see the Big Dipper. Sadly, it was not clear enough, however the rest of the day rewarded us with tons of birds, animals, plants, flowers and a National Geographic sunset! The Sea Voyager found itself in the idyllic Golfo Dulce at the southern end of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. In here we visited an amazing river and a botanical garden.
In the morning the Esquinas River was invaded by Lindblad guests in kayaks and Zodiac cruises. Anything that there was, did not escape from somebody’s eyes or camera lens. Birds, monkeys, river otters, iguanas, lizards… It was so outstanding, that we even stayed longer than planned, cruising through this tropical rainforest river.
Later, surrounded by lushly forested beaches we had a great tasty lunch after which, we visited the 7 hectare botanical garden named Casa Orquideas. In this garden there are not just orchids as it name implies but also fruit trees, medicinal plants, many flowers, birds and bats.
So from all that let’s talk about the least attractive one for most of people – bats. There are over 900 species of bats worldwide; around 110 species inhabit Costa Rican forests. They are small, fruit eaters, nectar drinkers or insect trappers. Most of them do not rest in deep underground cavers; at least 15 bat species construct their own roost sites by modifying the shape of large leaves, as these tent-making bats here demonstrate. By severing leaf veins with their teeth, making them fold downward, acquiring a tent-like shape. The bats cling to the main midrib, this shelter is strong enough to stand the stormy tropical showers but fragile enough to let the bats feel the presence of a not welcome guest, like snakes. It is very difficult for nonflying predators to approach without shaking the leaf and scaring the bats away, is this not the best alarm system or what! So bats will not be the most cute-looking vertebrates but definitely they are a very important part of this tropical rain forest, as pollinators, predators and prey.
After a great star guessing night with Rick, some of us woke up early enough to try to see the Big Dipper. Sadly, it was not clear enough, however the rest of the day rewarded us with tons of birds, animals, plants, flowers and a National Geographic sunset! The Sea Voyager found itself in the idyllic Golfo Dulce at the southern end of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. In here we visited an amazing river and a botanical garden.
In the morning the Esquinas River was invaded by Lindblad guests in kayaks and Zodiac cruises. Anything that there was, did not escape from somebody’s eyes or camera lens. Birds, monkeys, river otters, iguanas, lizards… It was so outstanding, that we even stayed longer than planned, cruising through this tropical rainforest river.
Later, surrounded by lushly forested beaches we had a great tasty lunch after which, we visited the 7 hectare botanical garden named Casa Orquideas. In this garden there are not just orchids as it name implies but also fruit trees, medicinal plants, many flowers, birds and bats.
So from all that let’s talk about the least attractive one for most of people – bats. There are over 900 species of bats worldwide; around 110 species inhabit Costa Rican forests. They are small, fruit eaters, nectar drinkers or insect trappers. Most of them do not rest in deep underground cavers; at least 15 bat species construct their own roost sites by modifying the shape of large leaves, as these tent-making bats here demonstrate. By severing leaf veins with their teeth, making them fold downward, acquiring a tent-like shape. The bats cling to the main midrib, this shelter is strong enough to stand the stormy tropical showers but fragile enough to let the bats feel the presence of a not welcome guest, like snakes. It is very difficult for nonflying predators to approach without shaking the leaf and scaring the bats away, is this not the best alarm system or what! So bats will not be the most cute-looking vertebrates but definitely they are a very important part of this tropical rain forest, as pollinators, predators and prey.
