Today was our second day on board the National Geographic Sea Lion and it turned out to be another great of the trip and from my humble point of view, a very special day. We had the entire day at the Osa Peninsula one of the pristine tropical forests and wildernesses of Costa Rica - and for a very good reason- it is very difficult to access.
There isn’t an established road that you could take to any of the places we visited today. In order to get there you would require a combination of: a four-wheel drive vehicle, horseback ride, walking, boat ride or small plane.
This condition of isolation has kept the forests free of major human impacts, still today, many people from Costa Rica have never visited these places. It’s no wonder why being here is such a privilege!
We spent the first part of the morning in the Caletas Wildlife Preserve where some of us went on a long hike deep into the tropical forest while others went on a short hike along the beach surrounding the forest. We were not only able to enjoy the beautiful forest alone, but got to see some of its inhabitants like red-caped manakin birds, black mandible toucan, scarlet macaws, and a huge army of leaf cutter ants doing what they do best, cutting leaves.
After lunch the National Geographic Sea Lion reposition to Corcovado National Park, saving the best for last! At the park, we splintered onto different trails some going to see waterfall with a chance to get a deep in a waterhole of the river, and although the main quest was the waterfall and the swim we got the bonus of howler monkeys, one crocodile, and even some spider monkeys. Others went on a birding hike through the lower forest of the park where we not only got to see birds, but more of the forest’s primate inhabitants. Let’s not forget the flora – we were awed by the beauty of a big strangler fig tree taking over its hosts.
What can I say? This is just the beginning and it's just getting better every day!
