Casa Orquideas and Rincon, Golfo Dulce Area
With the rising of the sun, we noticed that we had arrived in Costa Rica. Cloudy skies and some drizzle received us at Golfo Dulce. The forecast predicted rain in one of the two major Gulf areas in the Pacific of Costa Rica.
We positioned our ship just off the beach entry to a little paradise of ornamental plants and tropical birds. We disembarked at Casa Orquideas with big expectations to enjoy our first experience of Costa Rica’s southern Pacific area, a place known as the most ecologically diverse tropical forest in the neotropics.
On our arrival the owners came to welcome us and with them our first “Chestnut-mandibled Toucan,” then another one and another…. It turned out these slightly overcast conditions could not be better for our winged friends! At the end of our visit we counted at least 30 species in total! We started walks on trails through the gardens, and little by little we got immersed in their ecology and beauty. We stopped repeatedly to enjoy astounding views through our binoculars and spotting scopes of the spectacled owl, yellow- headed caracara, fiery-billed aracari and many, many more; all this to the soundtrack of the loud vocalizations of the mantled howler monkeys traveling through the canopy of the trees.
By 11:00 a.m. just a few of us still remained at Casa Orquideas, where we were enjoying taking the last pictures of birds and plants. At this point all the naturalists got together to talk about the amazing morning, when out of the green wall of vegetation a white blob flew across our eyes…unbelievable! A white hawk, standing just a few yards away from us. Every time we tried to pack and get ready to go we had something new to see! Finally by noon we had to stop looking and turn our backs to this paradise to be on time to reposition the Sea Voyager to the area of Rincon.
This afternoon we wanted more, and clear skies were a good omen. We hoped for any kind of mammal. Those of us on the walk along the road were granted with some more birds and 4 individuals of the nocturnal “Hoffmann’s two toed sloth,” two of them were even active! Those of us who opted for a Zodiac cruise or a kayaking opportunity amongst the mangroves encountered Costa Rica’s only pink bird, the roseate spoonbill. With our return to the ship a heavy rain concluded the day, even well into the night we still said among ourselves “Que dia mas increible!” (What an incredible day!).
With the rising of the sun, we noticed that we had arrived in Costa Rica. Cloudy skies and some drizzle received us at Golfo Dulce. The forecast predicted rain in one of the two major Gulf areas in the Pacific of Costa Rica.
We positioned our ship just off the beach entry to a little paradise of ornamental plants and tropical birds. We disembarked at Casa Orquideas with big expectations to enjoy our first experience of Costa Rica’s southern Pacific area, a place known as the most ecologically diverse tropical forest in the neotropics.
On our arrival the owners came to welcome us and with them our first “Chestnut-mandibled Toucan,” then another one and another…. It turned out these slightly overcast conditions could not be better for our winged friends! At the end of our visit we counted at least 30 species in total! We started walks on trails through the gardens, and little by little we got immersed in their ecology and beauty. We stopped repeatedly to enjoy astounding views through our binoculars and spotting scopes of the spectacled owl, yellow- headed caracara, fiery-billed aracari and many, many more; all this to the soundtrack of the loud vocalizations of the mantled howler monkeys traveling through the canopy of the trees.
By 11:00 a.m. just a few of us still remained at Casa Orquideas, where we were enjoying taking the last pictures of birds and plants. At this point all the naturalists got together to talk about the amazing morning, when out of the green wall of vegetation a white blob flew across our eyes…unbelievable! A white hawk, standing just a few yards away from us. Every time we tried to pack and get ready to go we had something new to see! Finally by noon we had to stop looking and turn our backs to this paradise to be on time to reposition the Sea Voyager to the area of Rincon.
This afternoon we wanted more, and clear skies were a good omen. We hoped for any kind of mammal. Those of us on the walk along the road were granted with some more birds and 4 individuals of the nocturnal “Hoffmann’s two toed sloth,” two of them were even active! Those of us who opted for a Zodiac cruise or a kayaking opportunity amongst the mangroves encountered Costa Rica’s only pink bird, the roseate spoonbill. With our return to the ship a heavy rain concluded the day, even well into the night we still said among ourselves “Que dia mas increible!” (What an incredible day!).
