Rio Rincon & Casa Orquideas Botanical Garden, Costa Rica
During the early morning hours, the Sea Voyager dropped anchor in the calm, glass waters of the Golfo Dulce (sweet water gulf), located inside the Osa Peninsula, which we explored yesterday.
From a geological point of view, it is pretty unique. It has a very deep center (close to 700 ft), and a very shallow entrance (around 60 ft). In temperate regions, this will be known as a Fjord normally carved by glaciers. In Costa Rica, glaciers carved just a few of our highest mountains, but never close to sea level, so our Golfo Dulce is a consequence of tectonic plates that split apart and sank down the central area.
The morning outing brought us to explore a very important ecosystem that has been underestimated for a very long time, mangroves. The term refers to all species of trees that are able to live in salt water environments, normally in estuaries, or shorelines with very calm wave action. Mangroves are guardians, and they are builders. Their entangled root systems are the perfect place for small fish, octopus and crabs to hide from larger predators which, due to their size, are not able to chase the small creatures. In this case, mangroves are the baby-sitters of the ocean but at the same time their root systems work as soils trappers, creating more dry land for the forest to expand upon later.
Using our Zodiacs and kayaks we explored this impressive ecosystem, in which we found ospreys, great blue herons, snowy egrets, tiger herons, white ibis, little blue herons, terns, kingfishers and even a snake. After this adventure, the ship repositioned to a different area, always within the gulf. For the afternoon we visited a botanical garden, owned by a couple of expatriates, Ron and Trudy MacAllister.
Casa Orquideas is a dream-come-true for any plant lover. Orchids as big as your hand, palm trees that bloom every hundred years, bromeliads that hold over two gallons of water in its center tanks, and more can be found here. The garden also has a great variety of tropical fruits and medicinal plants.
Today was our last day exploring Costa Rica, a great combination of activities, bird watching, kayaking, Zodiac cruising and, to close the day, a gorgeous sunset, warm and calm like life in the tropics.
During the early morning hours, the Sea Voyager dropped anchor in the calm, glass waters of the Golfo Dulce (sweet water gulf), located inside the Osa Peninsula, which we explored yesterday.
From a geological point of view, it is pretty unique. It has a very deep center (close to 700 ft), and a very shallow entrance (around 60 ft). In temperate regions, this will be known as a Fjord normally carved by glaciers. In Costa Rica, glaciers carved just a few of our highest mountains, but never close to sea level, so our Golfo Dulce is a consequence of tectonic plates that split apart and sank down the central area.
The morning outing brought us to explore a very important ecosystem that has been underestimated for a very long time, mangroves. The term refers to all species of trees that are able to live in salt water environments, normally in estuaries, or shorelines with very calm wave action. Mangroves are guardians, and they are builders. Their entangled root systems are the perfect place for small fish, octopus and crabs to hide from larger predators which, due to their size, are not able to chase the small creatures. In this case, mangroves are the baby-sitters of the ocean but at the same time their root systems work as soils trappers, creating more dry land for the forest to expand upon later.
Using our Zodiacs and kayaks we explored this impressive ecosystem, in which we found ospreys, great blue herons, snowy egrets, tiger herons, white ibis, little blue herons, terns, kingfishers and even a snake. After this adventure, the ship repositioned to a different area, always within the gulf. For the afternoon we visited a botanical garden, owned by a couple of expatriates, Ron and Trudy MacAllister.
Casa Orquideas is a dream-come-true for any plant lover. Orchids as big as your hand, palm trees that bloom every hundred years, bromeliads that hold over two gallons of water in its center tanks, and more can be found here. The garden also has a great variety of tropical fruits and medicinal plants.
Today was our last day exploring Costa Rica, a great combination of activities, bird watching, kayaking, Zodiac cruising and, to close the day, a gorgeous sunset, warm and calm like life in the tropics.
