We started the morning with great views of the beautiful waters of Costa Rica and its shoreline, followed by Zodiac rides on the Agujitas River. This small river is affected by the daily tides, and is full of various animal species. We saw birds, bats, and iguanas on the morning visit. Our morning exploration was complemented in the afternoon by hikes. Some of us enjoyed a long hike along the coast of Caletas Beach, with a nice swim after our walk; another group visited a shorter trail where they saw monkeys and macaws. Costa Rica is for sure a country to visit for incredible wildlife observation.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 18 Feb 2024
Osa Peninsula, Caletas and Drakes Bay, 2/18/2024, National Geographic Quest
- Aboard the National Geographic Quest
- Costa Rica, Panama & Colombia
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Costa Rica and the Panama Canal
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3/14/2024
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Playa Blanca, La Palma, Golfo Dulce
Today is the day we get to share with the Costa Rican locals! We disembarked onto lovely Playa Blanca, one of the large beaches on the western side of the Golfo Dulce. We could choose to do two out of four activities and a local family or person runs each one of these projects. Our choices were to visit a gold panning and sugar cane facility, visit Doña Eida’s hearts of palm project, hike the trails in Finca Danta, or visit Alex’s garden and cacao farm. Whichever activities we picked, we were sure to enjoy amazing stories and delicious food. Most importantly, we had the chance to learn a lot about the activities themselves and how these projects have changed the person’s life, their family’s lifestyle, and their need to continue with environmentally friendly activities. We went back on board happy for the experience and happier to make a change in peoples’ lives.
3/13/2024
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National Geographic Quest
Golfo Dulce
Today National Geographic Quest arrived to Golfo Dulce, and we craned down the kayak first thing in the morning to paddle along the beautiful coastline of the gulf. The mountains in this area offered a beautiful forest backdrop and our guests enjoyed the morning activities. We enjoyed our interactions with the white-throated capuchin monkeys that came right by the shoreline and were feasting on the fruitful trees that were readily available for them to eat. Having the gulf to explore the entire morning was a delight, and the bird life was plentiful, many of them migrants of the northern shore. We also had a great kayaking trip alongside the mangroves. Later in the afternoon, we repositioned our beautiful ship to the mouth of Rio Seco. This destination has a wonderful rainforest reserve that shelters a second growth forest in which we saw incredible tall canopy species of trees. We also saw many different nectar plants in the garden, scarlet macaws, yellow-throated toucans, blue ground doves, and scarlet-rumped tanagers among others. We also had many different drinks and pastries to enjoy, which made for a great ending to our day exploring the beautiful gulf.