Golfo Dulce, Casa Orquideas and Esquinas River, Costa Rica
“Good morning… goooood morning!” Over the PA system our expedition leader Bernal Diaz is gently waking us up to a new day in beautiful Costa Rica, as National Geographic Sea Lion cruises through the calm waters of Golfo Dulce or “Sweet Water Gulf.” This geological formation resembles the temperate fjords carved by glaciers, but in this tropical country it was formed by the forces of the tectonic plates moving apart, sinking the central area of this gulf. In its deepest areas it could reach close to 700 feet in depth, allowing dolphins, turtles and even whales sharks to thrive here.
As a great welcome, the first outing of the day took place at Casa Orquideas, a private garden owned by a couple of American expatriates who have made this lush rain forest their home for the past 30 years and, with hard work, turned it into the most well-manicured garden in the area. Each naturalist walked with a group of guests, explaining, showing, pointing and smelling all kind of plants, from cocoa trees to vanilla plants, from chili peppers to cinnamon trees, from papayas to pineapples, along with hundreds of orchids in bloom, bromeliads, hibiscus and more.
But this garden was not just a paradise for plant lovers. The birdwatchers also had some great sightings: hummingbirds, king vultures, short-tailed hawks, white hawks, scarlet macaws and a couple of toucans that were plucking the fruits of a palm tree with their long tweezer-like beaks. It became much easier to understand the reason for such a large beak; they sit on the main branches and then reach out to get the fruit. Toucans are the quintessential birds from the neotropics; their range goes from southern Mexico down to Amazonian rain forests and nowhere else in the world, therefore they are known to be one of the over 30 families of birds found only in the new tropics of America.
After the garden walks we took a swim from the fantail of the ship… ummm, a nice dip in this sweet-water gulf, calm waters, almost like a lake.
Our afternoon activity took place at the mouth of the Esquinas River. Being warm (80 Fahrenheit) and calm, these waters provide the perfect conditions for mangroves to thrive. After lunch, our fleet of Zodiacs and kayaks entered the river to explore this important ecosystem. Mangroves are not a botanic classification but rather a lifestyle; the plants that thrive here have been adapting their physiology and morphology to the brackish waters by exuding the extra salt through their leaves and trunks and by developing a number of aeration roots to increase the absorption of air and water from the rain. Mangroves are very important as nurseries for fish, crustaceans and mollusks, as well as wave breakers in case of high tides. They act as soil retainers, diminishing or stopping the run-off from the mountains, protecting the ocean ecosystems and forming firm land for the forest trees to take root. Throughout our mangroves excursions we were able to see little blue herons, snowy egrets, white Ibis, ringed kingfishers, ospreys and a tree boa coiled up in a tree branch.
And with a tropical shower we finished our first day in Costa Rica, ready for more.
