Corcovado National Park, Monday
The next day, I was wide awake at 6am, as it was a beautiful day... I thought I was getting a private tour but for some reason, it wasn't possible, not enough room in the boat for an extra guide, so I had to 'share' the day with another 7 people and it was actually quite pleasant because they were all fairly nice. Sometimes I think I should be more sociable really !
We had to get on a boat to get to the park and within minutes we were able to spot a colony of brown boobies... and our guide knew that where you can see boobies, you will find dolphins. They always tend to 'fish' together though no one knows who benefits the most from the partnership... So, sure enough, as we got closer to the boobies, we started seeing dolphins jumping around and trying to race with our boat. That was just so wonderful... I'd never seen totally wild dolphins that close and they seemed to really enjoy the race, we must have been surrounded by about 12 of them, they were so close to the boat that we could see their bodies right under the water surface, we even had a mother and baby... Truly awesome. I just wanted to dive in with them but we were told it's best not to as not all dolphins are playful and sometimes mothers feel threatened... fair enough.
We registgered our names at the ranger station and started with a jungle walk in the morning -- and because it's supposed to be the richest park in terms of animal diversity and population, I had brought along my full camera gear, i.e. 6 kgs worth of zoom lenses and flash guns, and binoculars, etc. and it was torture walking through these treks sweating away like crazy and having this load on my back on top of it all. I couldn't help but think of the POW who built the River Kwai and how awful they must have felt... (you know me and my cheerful thoughts !!!!).
We were unlucky though and didn't really spot anything of interest beside a couple of caimans... we were told that they are not agressive actually and that if one of us was to fall in the river, they would swim away from us, as opposed to towards us. I asked my guide if he'd tested the theory and he said he did, last year, with a friend of his. They swam 60 meters downstream, knowing that a 6m caiman was in the vecinity, and it never came close. Hum... Guys like the weirdest challenges if you ask me.
We came back to the rangers' area and had a picnic lunch overlooking the sea. That was neat... the sound of waves crashing and seeing fly-catchers, tiger herons and pelicans... I was just relieved to be able to put my bag down !
In the afternoon, we went for a 2nd walk, by the river, and this was actually much more scenic. It was so pretty that we didn't mind not seeing any wildlife. We just enjoyed the walk for its 'lushness'... we had to cross a shallow river by walking over a dead tree and I wasn't convinced I could make it with my bag (too much weight, could have thrown me off balance) so one of my fellow companions kindly offered to carry it for me. Sometimes men can be useful, I hate to admit ! :)
We eventually reached a big waterfall and again, cooled off by jumping into it... it felt like the most blissful feelings after all the hard work (the trek was very much up & down stream and with many sheer drops ... not to mention all the countless trip hazards that the tree roots are... so you literaly had to watch your step all the way lest you ended up way, way down ... ).
But our swim was so wonderful, we just didn't want to leave... my guide told me that even if he won a million, he'd go back to his boss and say he'd pay him to get his job back !!! Say no more...
We reluctantly had to go back to the lodge before 3pm, but were rewarded by spotting a lot more wildlife when we landed back on our beach. We saw a whole colony of white-faced monkeys, and though they tried to look agressive, we were told they are all show and no guts. Good to know as I didn't like the sight of their teeth... mean little things really.
I then went back to my room for what I thought would be quick nap (after a much needed shower) and I fell into a coma for 3 hours. Again, I have no idea if it's the exercise + heat + jet-lag or what, but I've never needed to sleep so much in my previous travels... I might be showing signs of getting old, God forbid !!!
I opened my eyes at 6pm, just on time for the sunset, and it was quite pink and lovely but I was so shattered that I didn't even have the energy to make it to the balcony and grab my camera... say no more !!!
At least I was able to enjoy chatting to my fellow companions over dinner, instead of having it all alone... so, I guess that not being so shy can prove more enjoyable sometimes !
The next day, I was wide awake at 6am, as it was a beautiful day... I thought I was getting a private tour but for some reason, it wasn't possible, not enough room in the boat for an extra guide, so I had to 'share' the day with another 7 people and it was actually quite pleasant because they were all fairly nice. Sometimes I think I should be more sociable really !
We had to get on a boat to get to the park and within minutes we were able to spot a colony of brown boobies... and our guide knew that where you can see boobies, you will find dolphins. They always tend to 'fish' together though no one knows who benefits the most from the partnership... So, sure enough, as we got closer to the boobies, we started seeing dolphins jumping around and trying to race with our boat. That was just so wonderful... I'd never seen totally wild dolphins that close and they seemed to really enjoy the race, we must have been surrounded by about 12 of them, they were so close to the boat that we could see their bodies right under the water surface, we even had a mother and baby... Truly awesome. I just wanted to dive in with them but we were told it's best not to as not all dolphins are playful and sometimes mothers feel threatened... fair enough.
We registgered our names at the ranger station and started with a jungle walk in the morning -- and because it's supposed to be the richest park in terms of animal diversity and population, I had brought along my full camera gear, i.e. 6 kgs worth of zoom lenses and flash guns, and binoculars, etc. and it was torture walking through these treks sweating away like crazy and having this load on my back on top of it all. I couldn't help but think of the POW who built the River Kwai and how awful they must have felt... (you know me and my cheerful thoughts !!!!).
We were unlucky though and didn't really spot anything of interest beside a couple of caimans... we were told that they are not agressive actually and that if one of us was to fall in the river, they would swim away from us, as opposed to towards us. I asked my guide if he'd tested the theory and he said he did, last year, with a friend of his. They swam 60 meters downstream, knowing that a 6m caiman was in the vecinity, and it never came close. Hum... Guys like the weirdest challenges if you ask me.
We came back to the rangers' area and had a picnic lunch overlooking the sea. That was neat... the sound of waves crashing and seeing fly-catchers, tiger herons and pelicans... I was just relieved to be able to put my bag down !
In the afternoon, we went for a 2nd walk, by the river, and this was actually much more scenic. It was so pretty that we didn't mind not seeing any wildlife. We just enjoyed the walk for its 'lushness'... we had to cross a shallow river by walking over a dead tree and I wasn't convinced I could make it with my bag (too much weight, could have thrown me off balance) so one of my fellow companions kindly offered to carry it for me. Sometimes men can be useful, I hate to admit ! :)
We eventually reached a big waterfall and again, cooled off by jumping into it... it felt like the most blissful feelings after all the hard work (the trek was very much up & down stream and with many sheer drops ... not to mention all the countless trip hazards that the tree roots are... so you literaly had to watch your step all the way lest you ended up way, way down ... ).
But our swim was so wonderful, we just didn't want to leave... my guide told me that even if he won a million, he'd go back to his boss and say he'd pay him to get his job back !!! Say no more...
We reluctantly had to go back to the lodge before 3pm, but were rewarded by spotting a lot more wildlife when we landed back on our beach. We saw a whole colony of white-faced monkeys, and though they tried to look agressive, we were told they are all show and no guts. Good to know as I didn't like the sight of their teeth... mean little things really.
I then went back to my room for what I thought would be quick nap (after a much needed shower) and I fell into a coma for 3 hours. Again, I have no idea if it's the exercise + heat + jet-lag or what, but I've never needed to sleep so much in my previous travels... I might be showing signs of getting old, God forbid !!!
I opened my eyes at 6pm, just on time for the sunset, and it was quite pink and lovely but I was so shattered that I didn't even have the energy to make it to the balcony and grab my camera... say no more !!!
At least I was able to enjoy chatting to my fellow companions over dinner, instead of having it all alone... so, I guess that not being so shy can prove more enjoyable sometimes !
posted by Sylvie at 10:47 PM
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