José Calvo, certified photo instructor, and Rodrigo Moterani, staff
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Daily Expedition
Reports
22 Nov 2022
Playa Zapotal and Manglar Palmares, 11/22/2022, National Geographic Quest
Aboard the
National Geographic Quest
Costa Rica, Panama & Colombia
After navigating all night, we arrived at the first stop of our Wild Costa Rica Expedition: Playa Zapotal, an idyllic, grey sand beach on the Nicoya Peninsula. Here we had our first taste of what the Guanacaste dry forest has to offer. It didn’t take us long to see our first troop of howler monkeys.
In the afternoon, we took Zodiac tours through the Palmares mangrove forest, where we saw numerous birds.
Rodrigo Moterani was born in Brazil, where he still lives. After spending his teen years playing with camcorders and VCRs, Rodrigo ended up working in the field of television journalism and video production in his home country. He graduated with a de...
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Once more today, we had the privilege of waking up in this majestic place on the Pacific side of the North Pacific tropical moist forest. We observed an active volcano and enjoyed ziplining, horseback riding, hiking on forest trails, and waterfalls with swimming holes. We observed this incredible tropical forest and some of its inhabitants, including monkeys, black iguanas, and tropical birds.
Today we had the privilege of being the first and only tour group or ship allowed to visit this unique dry forest habitat. Lindblad is the only expedition company with authorization to anchor in this bay and visit Santa Elena National Park. We hiked along a recently built trail and experienced some of the last remnants of mature tropical dry forests anywhere in Meso America. After our morning walk in Santa Elena, we were fortunate to see nurse sharks and olive ridley sea turtles during our tour along the bay. In the afternoon, we reached Junquillal Wildlife Refuge, where we saw spider monkeys as well as white-faced capuchins, bringing us to a total of three primate species so far. Some of our guests enjoyed beach time, while others took kayaks or standup paddleboards out on the water.
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the Pacific Ocean on our first day exploring the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica, located on the northwest peninsula of the country. Guanacaste is a tropical dry forest, and we are visiting during the dry season. The coast is lined with a patchwork of forest, from lush green plants to deciduous trees that have lost their leaves and flowers. This morning, some of us took to the ocean to snorkel the rocky reefs of Punta Zapotal, while others went to shore to hike. All of us enjoyed the wildlife, from the tropical fish of the Pacific to the howler monkeys in the forest. In the afternoon, we explored by Zodiac, entering a beautiful mangrove forest. Mangroves are an incredibly important nearshore habitat, providing safe havens for juvenile fish and sharks, as well as nesting and feeding habitats for birds. After enjoying the sunny heat of the tropics, we returned to National Geographic Quest for ceviche and beverages as we watched the sunset. It was a great start to our trip in Costa Rica!
