Golfito, Costa Rica

Yesterday evening we had to put our watches back an hour, as we left Panama and sailed into Costa Rica. Overnight we travelled up the coast to the small port of Golfito, which we reached early in the morning. The weather was once again perfect with blue skies and a few clouds over the land.

Looking out to sea from the Bay of Golfito.

We had to wait at anchor in Golfito while we cleared Costa Rican customs. At about 9am, we left the bay and moved further along the coast to visit two places. The first was an orchid garden run by a local couple and the second, an animal refuge run by an American woman.

We were joined by local Costa Rican guides who were very knowledgeable and made the visit to the garden very interesting. Below are a few of the photos we took of the plants and their flowers.

Hanging under one of the palms was this tent-making bat.

As we neared the end of our tour of the garden, I saw our ship moored out in the bay with the palms making a perfect frame to the picture.

A giant hibiscus flower.

Looking along the beach near the orchid garden.

We returned to the ship for lunch and then took the Zodiacs to the animal refuge, which was about twenty minutes away. A school of dolphins swam alongside us and, try as I might to get a good shot of them, they always dived below before I could take a photo. The best I could do was this one of the tail of a dolphin, as it dived below the surface.

We landed on the beach next to the animal sanctuary, where they look after animals that have been confiscated from people who have them illegally, as well as animals that are injured in the wild.

We were all introduced to Sweetie, a spider monkey by Carol Crews, the founder of the centre.

The monkey liked to cling to the head of one of the staff.

This is a peccary, a small pig-like animal.

They had two magnificent macaws, which had both been affected by chemicals used by the banana growing companies and, as a result, neither was able to fly.

The refuge had a group of white-faced monkeys. Taking photos of them wasn't easy as the cage wires affected the camera focus, but Wendy managed to take this one, where the wires became a perfect frame for the monkey's face.

A two-toed sloth which looks like a mass of tangled hair!

The sloth's nose can be seen, but its eyes are hidden by the hair on its face.

The incredibly long tongue of a kinkajou, also known as a honey bear.

A tayra, similar to a weasel.

We stayed for about an hour and then returned to the ship. Tomorrow is our last full day of the cruise. We are spending it moored outside the town of Quepos and visiting one of Costa Rica's best known national parks, Manuel Antonio.