Costa Rica Aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion

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I’m writing today from aboard the National Geographic Expeditions National Geographic Sea Lion. This is my fourth season lecturing aboard the 62-passenger vessel (operated by Lindblad Expeditions) as a National Geographic Photographer and Resident Expert.

Currently we’re anchored off Playa Caletas, a remote beach a few miles north of Corcovado National Park, in Costa Rica, on day three of the week-long itinerary. This is the second, return, leg of my annual two-week assignment.

The itinerary takes me to some of the more difficult to access yet exciting places along Costa Rica’s southern Pacific coast, combined with thrilling destinations in Panama, ending with a crossing of the Panama Canal.

Daily activities typically include interpretive walks led by expert, Costa Rican (or Panamanian) born, naturalist guides fluent in English. Usually, trip participants can opt for an “easy” nature walk, or a longer and sometimes more difficult hike.

Take today...

This morning we made a ‘wet landing’—hauling ashore onto a beach from an inflatable Zodiac—at Caletas, where some participants thrilled to an optional horseback ride along the shore while other adventure-minded participants set out along a muddy, uneven loop trail that led uphill into the heart of the tropical rainforest. Less active participants opted for a shorter shoreline walk.

In the afternoon, the ship moved south and anchored off the San Pedrillo ranger station in Corcovado National Park—a crown-jewel of rainforest biota. Around 2:45pm, we disembarked the ship and loaded onto the Zodiacs for a wet landing on the beach. I then joined ebullient naturalist guide Marcel Lichtenstein for the moderately arduous ‘Waterfall Trail—a two-mile round-trip trail that ends at a spectacular waterfall with a refreshing natural pool good for bathing. Along the route, Marcel edified trip participants about birds and animals and botanical species (for example, the “monkey ladder” vine… the plant from which Ibuprofen was first extracted… and the “booger” tree, so-named for reasons you don’t want to know) we encountered along the muddy trail.

The day’s tally of wildlife added up to a veritable Noah’s Ark of Costa Rica’s neotropical wildlife...Scarlet macaws, chestnut-mandibled toucans, white-faced monkeys, a silky anteater, and even a juvenile American crocodile basking on the riverbank.

Sounds like fun, right?

I’ll be leading two additional cruise-tours next season (January 12 and January 19, 2013). Please join me!

For further information about travel in Costa Rica, buy Moon Costa Rica.

If you're traveling only to San José and the Caribbean, buy Moon Spotlight Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast.

If you're traveling only to the beaches of Nicoya, buy Moon Spotlight Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula.

If you're traveling only to Arenal and/or Monteverde, buy Moon Spotlight Arenal & Monteverde.
Disclosure: I occasionally accept free or discounted travel when it coincides with my editorial goals. However, my opinion is never for sale. The opinions you see in Cuba & Costa Rica Journal are my unbiased reflection of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Copyright © Christopher P. Baker