Caletas Nature Reserve & Corcovado National Park
It is early in the morning and the sun hasn’t even come out yet, but I was already out on the deck of the National Geographic Sea Lion feeling the warm breeze of the tropical rain forest, as we navigated to our destination, Caletas Nature Reserve.
This strategic location was the perfect spot for our morning activities: horseback riding, nature walks and beach time! The temperature was ideal for the morning walks, as we decided to explore the rain forest first. The feeling of being in the forest is already a great one, and even more so when you have encounters with wildlife. Just a few feet after the beginning of the trail, we found a Boa constrictor coming out from an ant nest. It crawled so slowly that everyone got the chance to have a great look!
As we strolled along the trail, we talked and learned about how the forest is practically the way how animals hide from predators, and a great example of that was the amazing camouflage that many animals developed, such as our encounter with a caterpillar mimicking exactly the form and shape of a Fer-de-Lance snake or Terciopelo (Bothops asper). The caterpillar would be otherwise easy prey for birds, but mimicking as a snake, its chances of survival increases.
As the heat and humidity increased, we arrived to the beach to have some relaxing and swimming time, perfect timing!
The afternoon was dedicated to exploring Corcovado National Park, one of the most pristine pieces of neo-tropical forest in Central America. It was here where, as part of the option, we swam in a pool formed by a waterfall located at the end of the trail.
The walk to the waterfall had many encounters with wildlife: howler monkeys, crocodiles, boat-billed herons and even a coati, which was strolling carelessly at the beginning of the trail!
Not a bad day at all, and I did not even mention the close encounter we had with a humpback whale and its calf as we were making our way to Corcovado National Park!
