It was raining as the ship steered into Limon, Costa Rica, early that Monday morning. In fact, it had rained continuously since the ship had entered the Caribbean, from the Panama Canal. This moisture was in stark contrast to the dry and sunny passage along the west coast of South America. On the Pacific side, it had been beautiful weather all the way up from Lima. It was a very pleasant temperature though and our dynamic duo were upbeat and raring to get after an ecotour on that day. They would visit a coastal mangrove forest by boat, in the Tortuguero Canals and then travel to the Veragua Rainforest. It was a great day in spite of the rain and let's face it, you have to expect some rain if you are next to a rainforest.
Both of the ecosystem tours were very cool. They started with a one-hour boat ride through the mangroves, near the coast. Howler monkeys, sloths, caimans and several species of birds were spotted. Then they proceeded to travel up-country to the Veragua Reserve. This was the highlight of the day.
The Veragua Rainforest Reserve includes almost 1500 hectares of protected habitat that is right next to La Amistad International Park, the largest "national park" in Central America. This pristine reserve was called "Cream of the Cream" of such venues, by National Geographic Traveler. Unlike the poor roads that you must take to get to the reserve, the infrastructure in the park is modern, safe, functional and attractive. Gym and his lovely companion, walked around the park on wide boardwalks to view reptile, amphibian and insect exhibits, a butterfly house and a research centre. Then they descended into a steep-sided valley on an open tram and hiked to a beautiful viewpoint above a waterfall. All along the way, they were guided by an eagle-eyed rainforest guru that spoke English almost perfectly. She spotted many animals as they hiked along, that tourists would never see. the guide also gave us good advice, such as, "don't put your hand in any holes". We saw two species of sloths, more monkeys, frogs, numerous birds and Mrs. Gym spotted a Coati. The most amazing thing though was experiencing the tram-ride trough the canopy of the rainforest and realizing how complex the ecosystem really is. The Veragua Rainforest Reserve is a 5-star attraction and is worth the hassle of getting to and from Limon.
Limon itself, needs a little work. An injection of infrastructure capital is sorely needed. The city's traffic is pretty bad because there is only one road that you have to get on to go anywhere. All it takes is one banana truck stalling on it and everything except the scooters and motorbikes are at a standstill. Gym and Mrs. Gym found this out at rush hour, on their way back to the ship and as a result, were in the last group of passengers to re-board. As Gym dragged his butt to the gangplank, he noticed the Captain standing on the bridge with his hands on his hips.
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| Limon is in need of a facelift |
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| Blue Heron |
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| Ibis |
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| There is a green lizard here. It is blending well with its surroundings |
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| This is about a 4-foot Caiman |
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| If you zoom in you can see a family of howler monkeys in the top of the tree |
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This is the beautiful central structure housing gift shops and a restaurant at the
Veragua Rainforest Reserve. Gym may have eaten something
here that caused some GI issues but it was a lovely place. |
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| This is the resident Boa Constrictor at the reserve. His name is Allan. |
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| A shy frog |
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| Our guide in front of a Saba tree, the national tree of Cost Rica. |
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After a hike of 500 meters, up and down a few stairs , you are rewarded
with a view of this waterfall.
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More pictures that Mrs. Gym took for us:
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| This is an example of the nice trails at the Veragua Reserve |
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Here is a picture of the platform where the trams load
at the top of the steep valley. |
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Here is an empty open-sided tram from which you can view the
rainforest in the canopy layer of the trees |
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This is a typical view as we descended down to the trails which wound
along the river. We saw a few sloths and monkeys from the trams.
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