Golfo Dulce
Today we arrived to Costa Rica’s southern region, “Golfo Dulce” or “Sweet Gulf.” Golfo Dulce is an inlet that starts on the Pacific Ocean side and extends slightly northward before turning west. The Bay separates the Osa Peninsula from the mainland of the country. The Osa Peninsula is a pristine tropical forest with beautiful and exuberant flora and fauna.
Our morning started at Casa Orquideas, a property protected and maintained by the McAllister family. Their botanical collection is truly an example of their passion and pride. They keep a living laboratory that can educate different generations of visitors about the ecology and natural history of tropical plants.
We entered the gardens and walked on trails through a display of flowers and plants. The birds also paid us a visit where we all observed a display of color from Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, Shining honeycreeper, Cherries tanager, and Red-legged honeycreeper. As the day got warmer, our guests had the chance to cool off, swimming from the stern of the Sea Voyager.
After lunch, a shroud of water covered the horizon as we repositioned to the Esquinas river estuary. Although we thought we had left the rain behind, it followed us, but this blessing of warm rainwater did not discourage the true spirit of exploration in our guests. We arrived to the mangroves and the rainforest, and the kayaks and Zodiacs facilitated the discovery of land that has not been tamed by humans.
Once back onboard the ship, we were ready to share all of our day’s experiences during cocktail hour, watching the beautiful sunset.
