Today we disembarked in one of my favorite places along the Costa Rica/Panama itinerary. The Casa Orquideas Botanical garden exhibits a beautiful sample of tropical plants from all over the world. This place is the home for a wide variety of colorful flowers, palm trees, tropical fruits and medicinal plants. At the same time, while enjoying the vibrant colors and delicate scents, guests got the chance to observe the scarlet macaws in flight as well as the amount of tanagers and honeycreeper birds that visit the garden with the promise of feeding on the bananas carefully placed in Ron and Trudy’s house, the owners of the property.
Later on, as we navigated a little further still in Golfito, the next adventure was about to take place. The area is a perfect location to explore the tranquil waters of the Golfo Dulce, where conditions in water and topography compare to a tropical fiord and make this place such a special ecosystem. At the time, guests could participate in either an active kayak tour or a Zodiac cruise along the very well preserved mangroves while enjoying the scenery and the occasional sighting of brown pelicans, little blue herons, snowy egrets, and more. The mangrove is a very productive and important ecosystem that is part of the local fishing economy. At the end of the day, it is time to go back to the ship. National Geographic Quest slowly departs Costa Rican waters and enters the Panama territory for more adventures to come.
