This day is our last in Costa Rica, and we visited the fantastic Casa Orquideas Botanical Garden. Only accessible from the ocean, this has become one of our favorite places to visit over the years. Ron and Trudy McAllister are American expats that have been living surrounded by forest and ocean for the last 35 years, and during this time, their love for the tropical plants has blossomed into this full-fledged beautiful exhibit. We enjoyed easy walks through a well-manicured property that displayed fruits, flowers, and spices from tropical areas all around the world. In addition, we kept being visited by animals and birds from the surrounding tropical rainforest. Then in the afternoon, we visited the mangrove forest of
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.
