Caletas & Corcovado National Park
We started the day exploring the Agujitas River by Zodiac. This medium-sized river is located in a bay that carries the name of one of the most famous explorers and privateers of the 1500’s, Sir Francis Drake. Our guests came back with stories of a bounty, a gift of wildlife, mantled howler monkeys, a bare-throated tiger heron and a fabulous sight: a white hawk.
I can’t help but wonder what went through the mind of Drake and his men the first time they heard the howling of a troop of howler monkeys. Did they think a large carnivore was coming to have them for a meal?
Agujitas River was just a taste of what was to come today. We were in the Osa Peninsula, a naturalist paradise. This area is famous not just for encompassing one of the most pristine National Parks of Costa Rica, but also for the efforts of conservation carried out by the private sector in the buffer zone of the park.
After the early natural experience we repositioned the Sea Voyager just a few minutes away to the wildlife refuge of Caletas. Some of us decided to explore the nearby trails while others went horseback riding. Once again, more jewels for our bounty: scarlet macaws, white throated capuchin monkeys, and more mantled howler monkeys.
After a fantastic BBQ lunch on the beach organized by Erasmo and the galley we again moved a few miles down the coast to finally enter the 41,788 hectares Corcovado National Park. Exploring this pristine forest, we discovered a bathing Red-capped Manakin, the endemic Black-cheeked ant tanager, army ants, an American crocodile, and more mantled howler monkeys. As if this weren’t enough, some guests jumped in a refreshing swimming hole in the middle of the rainforest. The perfect way to give closure to our visit to the Osa Peninsula.
As I sit here writing these words, my mind wonders what tomorrow will prepare for us.
We started the day exploring the Agujitas River by Zodiac. This medium-sized river is located in a bay that carries the name of one of the most famous explorers and privateers of the 1500’s, Sir Francis Drake. Our guests came back with stories of a bounty, a gift of wildlife, mantled howler monkeys, a bare-throated tiger heron and a fabulous sight: a white hawk.
I can’t help but wonder what went through the mind of Drake and his men the first time they heard the howling of a troop of howler monkeys. Did they think a large carnivore was coming to have them for a meal?
Agujitas River was just a taste of what was to come today. We were in the Osa Peninsula, a naturalist paradise. This area is famous not just for encompassing one of the most pristine National Parks of Costa Rica, but also for the efforts of conservation carried out by the private sector in the buffer zone of the park.
After the early natural experience we repositioned the Sea Voyager just a few minutes away to the wildlife refuge of Caletas. Some of us decided to explore the nearby trails while others went horseback riding. Once again, more jewels for our bounty: scarlet macaws, white throated capuchin monkeys, and more mantled howler monkeys.
After a fantastic BBQ lunch on the beach organized by Erasmo and the galley we again moved a few miles down the coast to finally enter the 41,788 hectares Corcovado National Park. Exploring this pristine forest, we discovered a bathing Red-capped Manakin, the endemic Black-cheeked ant tanager, army ants, an American crocodile, and more mantled howler monkeys. As if this weren’t enough, some guests jumped in a refreshing swimming hole in the middle of the rainforest. The perfect way to give closure to our visit to the Osa Peninsula.
As I sit here writing these words, my mind wonders what tomorrow will prepare for us.
