It was another lovely day in Costa Rica. I went to
bed at midnight as the ship was anchored. I kind of missed the rock and
rolling. We had sailed around the Osa peninsula and were anchored at
Caletas reserve. This reserve is one of many privately owned properties
surrounding national parks as protected areas.
Breakfast was the usual buffet. Today's special was
French toast made from the homemade raisin bread from yesterday. It was
awesome! They also had scrambled eggs with mushrooms.
At 8:30 we started the lineup to get on the zodiacs
to head to Caletas. Eleven people went horseback riding for 2 hours along
the beach and into a bit of the forest. They had to pay $35 for that.
Others went on a long hike, and the rest of us hung out around the owners’
home and grounds. There was a large pavilion with picnic tables for those
that wanted to rest.
The zodiac landing was a little trickier today because of
the serf. We had to pull back a few times in order not to dump everyone
in the drink, but we finally made it in.
I was in Jose's group that wandered around the grounds.
I loved this trip because it gave a big dividend for a small investment
in energy. Right off the bat we saw a tiger heron on an open branch.
There were large mango trees around that looked a lot like live oaks.
Then we spotted a Jesus lizard on a branch. It took me a while
to find it, and it was right in front of me.
There were lots of leaf-eating ants around, and they are
so fascinating to watch. One group we followed down a huge tree, onto the
ground, and way up into the woods. The column is narrow - one way going
back to the nest with leaves, and those going back to the tree to get more.
I also saw a blue morpho butterfly off in the distance, but that was the
only one I saw.
I also spotted a tiny land crab up hiding up against a
branch. I was so glad to see one. They also call them Halloween
crabs because they have purple bodies and orange appendages. I was told
they rarely come out before dusk, and even though this was a small one, I was
thrilled to at least see one.
We all heard a pair of macaws come and land in a tall
almond palm tree, so we hurried over there. They love the seeds of this
non-indigenous tree. They played hide and seek with us until finally I
got a really amazing shot of one of them.
I saw another berbina bush (Jose identified it for me).
This one had blue flowers and the one I saw yesterday at Casa Orchidea
were red. It was a lovely 2 hours.
Bill had been with another group and had seen some
different things. We were on the first boat back, and we were ready for
some air-conditioning. Everyone was back by noon.
Lunch was served at 12:30. We had chicken
chorizo and lentil soup. It was a tomato base soup and was quite good.
We were served family style and had turkey and cheese sandwiches on
focaccia bread. For dessert we had ice cream sundaes. It is amazing
how grown people become little kids when presented with ice cream!!
I had hemmed and hawed as to whether I wanted to do the
afternoon activity. Each day seems filled with 2 days worth of stuff.
The option this afternoon was a landing on Corcovado National Park with a
2 mile hike that was rather rough - muddy, lots of roots, up and down. At
the end was a waterfall with an opportunity to swim.
I decided I wanted the option to sit back, put my feet
up, start the nightly email, stay cool, get some ship photos with no one
(almost) on board. Bill did do the hike since he is not
doing tomorrow morning's hike at Manuel Antonio Park since we had done it
in March. I loved that hike, so I am going to do it tomorrow.
I took a shower and got cleaned up before Bill got in at
5. It was an interesting walk for him and 30 other people that did the
walk to the waterfalls. The guy that had gotten sick on Sunday fell down
in front of Bill. He was okay, but I can't believe that at 82 and with
the other problems he had that he actually walked again. They didn't see
anything that we didn't see this morning, so I am glad I stayed on the ship.
At 6 we had the usual social hour with cheese, fruit, and
tonight the hors d'ouvres was "cheese puff'. It was a puff pastry
ball with cheese in the dough. The staff gave a quick recap, talked about
what was on for tomorrow. Then Patrick the young video chronicler gave a
short preview of the DVD that he is creating of our week. It is really
good so far, and we will buy one to bring home for $50.
We went in to dinner at 7:10. The salad was
greens with oranges, almonds, onions, and oven roasted tomatoes. We had a
choice of lamb, local lenguado (like halibet), and a vegetarian stuffed
portabello mushroom. Bill had a steak which is always an option. I
got the fish option, and it was amazing. It was served with spicy grits
and Brussels sprouts.
After dinner, dessert (cheesecake with fruit compote) was
served in the lounge. We had an Argentina couple sing and entertain.
We were anchored near Caletas, so they just boated over for the
performance.
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