This weekend a group of us ventured to Curú National Wildlife Refuge in the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. The trip consisted of a 3 hour bus ride to Puntarenas where to took a ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya. The ferry ride could not have been at a better time as we were able to see the incredible sunset over the ocean and the mountains. I have never seen anything so beautiful before; I only wish the pictures did it enough justice.
The next day, my group of 18 essentially had the entire beach and park to ourselves as this time of year is technically winter for the ticos. We were able to see dozens of Ghost crabs on the beach and I could have spent the entire day trying to catch them - which I only manages to succeed once in doing so. We also saw some Howler monkeys playing in the trees and sounding their mating calls which have the tendency to sound like a very angry dog and echo throughout the entire park. We were even able to see a whale breaching not far from the beach which was mesmerizing. A few of my friends and I decided to go for a horse back ride since a few of them had never ridden a horse before. The ride was so much fun! Our guide took us through trails on the park that looked very similar to the background of Jurassic Park (which I later found out that one of the movies was filmed there!).
However, the coolest part of the whole weekend was the 45 minute kayak tour we took to a private, intimate beach that appeared to be untouched with white sand and towering palm trees. There we waded in the water as we waited for the sun to set. When it was dark enough all we had to do was wave our hands through the water to see the hundreds of bioluminescent plankton living in the water - it was truly impeccable. The plankton that were invisible to see during the day became the brightest lights once the sun disappeared. I guess you could say it was one of those situations where you have to see it to believe it. We spent a good hour in the water playing with our new obsession and only got out when certain plankton started nibbling at us underwater. It was spectacular to witness such a marvelous light show from organisms that you can't see with the naked eye. This event certainly put the microscopic world into perspective for me.
That's all for now folks! Keep an eye out for an account of my adventures as I head to Bocas del Toro, Panama!
The next day, my group of 18 essentially had the entire beach and park to ourselves as this time of year is technically winter for the ticos. We were able to see dozens of Ghost crabs on the beach and I could have spent the entire day trying to catch them - which I only manages to succeed once in doing so. We also saw some Howler monkeys playing in the trees and sounding their mating calls which have the tendency to sound like a very angry dog and echo throughout the entire park. We were even able to see a whale breaching not far from the beach which was mesmerizing. A few of my friends and I decided to go for a horse back ride since a few of them had never ridden a horse before. The ride was so much fun! Our guide took us through trails on the park that looked very similar to the background of Jurassic Park (which I later found out that one of the movies was filmed there!).
However, the coolest part of the whole weekend was the 45 minute kayak tour we took to a private, intimate beach that appeared to be untouched with white sand and towering palm trees. There we waded in the water as we waited for the sun to set. When it was dark enough all we had to do was wave our hands through the water to see the hundreds of bioluminescent plankton living in the water - it was truly impeccable. The plankton that were invisible to see during the day became the brightest lights once the sun disappeared. I guess you could say it was one of those situations where you have to see it to believe it. We spent a good hour in the water playing with our new obsession and only got out when certain plankton started nibbling at us underwater. It was spectacular to witness such a marvelous light show from organisms that you can't see with the naked eye. This event certainly put the microscopic world into perspective for me.
That's all for now folks! Keep an eye out for an account of my adventures as I head to Bocas del Toro, Panama!