With an incredible sunrise our morning start at Drakes Bay, Costa Rica. Our group was ready to explore the trails and fascinating ecologies of the region. Peninsula Osa is considered one of the most vibrating places on the world about abundance of wildlife. Today was just our first day of the trip and it was successful. Our first sighting was a troop of Central American spider monkeys, who were crossing over our heads braking branches and foraging for fruits. Those monkeys are unique cause are the only primates from the new world who lack thumbs. The calls of the birds were also notable on the surrounding forest even when the noise cicadas were loud as a chainsaw. We saw trogons, antbirds, and tanagers. We enjoy the walk to a waterfall, following a trail with a lot of roots and mud but with some huge trees, some of them so tall that you can see the shade that is created for them do not let anything else grow underneath. The tropical rainforest shows how humid and diverse this ecosystem is. It was a lot of fun in our first day in Costa Rica.
3/20/2025
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National Geographic Quest
Caletas Private Reserve and Corcovado National Park
Over five days ago, we began our journey in Panama and now we’re on our last day in Costa Rica. We decided to explore one of the most important areas in terms of biodiversity, the Osa Peninsula. The Osa Peninsula is home to approximately 4% of the biodiversity in the world. For many years, people tried to mine the area because it is very rich in minerals, specifically gold. Over thirty years ago the government of Costa Rica decided to promote the country as a tourist destination and today it is a pioneer of sustainability in Central America. We began our morning activities offering different options for our guests. The first activity was a coastal walk, and some had the opportunity to see a boa, a white-throated capuchin monkey, and a mantled howler monkey. In the afternoon, part of our group chose to go for a waterfall hike led by our naturalists, and they finished at a swimming hole where they took time to relax and enjoy themselves. Other guests took the long Pargo trail where they saw a Central American spider monkey, and a tapir, one of the most difficult animals to see in the tropics. We finished our day with an amazing sunset from the bow of the National Geographic Quest , a great end to a great day.
