March 12, 2006
A Naturalist's View of Costa Rica- Part 2
This is the second of two reports, submitted by Sally Cannata, one of our Virtual Cruise presenters, following her cruise in Costa Rica aboard the Pacific Explorer.
Portobelo has amazing history and the expatriate guest speakers were very interesting. Tons of gold and silver passed through this tiny port in the 1500's and of course there is plenty of pirate lore. It is amazing that a place of such historic importance has not really been developed. The ruins are impressive, but tricky walking for some. The mangroves zodiac tour led by naturalists added to the variety of the day.
Panama Canal - I think a few folks were disappointed that we didn't pass through during the daylight, but I think most though it was fine. It was well lit and we had a great buffet on deck to enjoy the scenery during dinner. There was a wake-up list for the final set of locks and the Bridge of the America's which was beautifully lit at night.
Coiba National Park - the island Granito de Oro is named appropriately. It truly is like a golden nugget. Tiny island with a white sand beach, the perfect distance to kayak or snorkel all the way around. The current was pretty strong and a challenge for some. Alexandro not only a naturalist, but also an olympic hopeful in swimming, led a group around the island. I was impressed with the DIB operators/deck hands who circled the island and kept close watch on the snorkelers and kickers and had a ladder handy incase someone needed to get out. I should also mention that the zodiac operators were very safety conscious and were always there lending a hand every time we enter/exited the zodiacs. I have snorkeled in a lot of places and I really think that Granito de Oro is absolutely world class!
Golfo Dulce - Casa Orquideas was a beautiful lush tropical garden with amazing plants and I think Rudy could have spent all day with us talking about the plants & birds. The afternoon at Cana Blanca was just plain fun.
It is a rehabilitation center for tropical wildlife and we saw baby sloths and anteaters up-close as well as magnificent scarlet macaws, but I think the highlight was the mischievous monkeys who were friendly enough to hop into my lap. Everyone who wanted a hands-on experience got it.
Manuel Antonio - this was the most crowded place we visited. I guess we were spoiled going so many places where we were the only ones there.
However, it is a popular park for good reason and probably has wide name recognition as well. We saw both three-toed and two-toed sloths, a band of coati's (a tropical version of the racoon), wild howler monkeys, iguanas, and the "Jesus Christ Lizard" (although it was sitting on a stump, not walking on water). So quite worthwhile considering the wildlife. All of the naturalists carried tripods with high quality viewing scopes which made all the difference in our guests ability to spot the wildlife and would be a great addition to the Mexico itinerary since the birding is so great in Baja (perhaps they also have spotting scopes already?)
Corcovado - less visited, with interesting trails, leaf cutter ants, termite nests, elusive tropical birds, and great nature walks of all levels.
Smooth transfer to the airport with a nice stop along the way with restrooms & tasteful giftshop.
The snorkeling was clustered at the beginning of the trip and the nature walks toward the end, it would be nice to mix it up a bit more. Although there were swimming opportunities nearly every day, there were only 2 stops that focused on the snorkeling. A tropical fish slide show would be a great addition to the other evening lectures.
Sally Cannata (formerly Wenning) was a Cruise Coordinator/Naturalist with Cruise West for many years and nows lives in Missoula, Montana. We are thrilled that she continues to be involved with the company as one of our Virtual Cruise presenters. On March 21st & 23rd, she will be hosting two Virtual Cruise Presentations that will focus on Costa Rica. If you'd like to meet Sally online and hear more about her experience, be sure to sign-up.
Posted by Sally on March 12, 2006 4:28 PM
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