After leaving beautiful Panama yesterday, we woke up this morning in the little bay of Golfito, on the Southwestern coast of Costa Rica. Golfito literally means in Spanish “little bay” and in this little bay we spent the morning exploring the mangrove forest by Zodiacs and kayaks to find several species of herons, and shore birds, such as yellow crowned night heron, tri-colored heron, ruddy turnstones, willets, whimbrels, and may others.
During the afternoon National Geographic Quest, repositioned to the nearby Casa Orquideas botanical garden.
Casa Orquideas was put together over the last 35 years by Ron and Trudy Mc-Allister, American expats living in this remote part of the world. They have put together a world-class exhibit of spices, fruits and flowers of the tropics.
The well-maintained property is a joy to explore.
While learning through the interpretation of the naturalist about the plants in the garden, we got frequently visited by many of the colorful birds of the surrounding forest.
Scarlet macaws, yellow-throated toucans, scarlet-rumped tanagers, red-legged honeycreepers, and many others.
It was truly a great way to start a new year and see a new country.
