This was the last day of our expedition, and probably the most productive in terms of wildlife sightings. We started early in the morning with some hikes and walks inside the Curu Wildlife Refuge, where it didn’t really matter where you were, there was something interesting to see around every single corner. We discovered white-faced capuchins along with howler monkeys, white-tailed deer, and coatis; for the birdwatchers we found scarlet macaws, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and trogons. We even spotted a few black iguanas, “garrobos,” for the ones that like reptiles. Later in the afternoon we all had a really nice dinner and farewell at Isla Tortuga. We said goodbye to the expedition and the time we shared together that created memories that will last forever.
11/22/2024
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National Geographic Quest
Curu
Today was a sunny, muddy, wildlife extravaganza. Along our forest walks in Curu we saw greater white-lined bats (Saccopteryx bilineata), Central American agoutis (Dasyprocta punctata), white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus), howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata), white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica), bare-throated tiger herons (Tigrisoma mexicanum), and common black hawks (Buteogallus anthracinus). Curu is a multi-use sustainability development project that prioritizes forest protection, sustainable agriculture, and wildlife conservation. It has been involved in projects featuring scarlet macaws (Ara macao), a gorgeous parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas. We spent the afternoon at Isla Tortuga where guests enjoyed coconuts and then watched charismatic collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) feed on the leftovers. It was difficult to leave the beach, but we had the world premiere of our guest slideshow to enjoy, prepared by our magnificent Photo Instructor, José Calvo.