Jungle Safari

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Geo: 9.98102, -84.8392

Tropical Central America. Todays destination, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We had a tour booked for the afternoon, but the morning was ours to explore the coast solo. We enjoyed a quick breakfast, applied a layer of mosquito repellent and sunscreen and headed ashore around 9am. Theres no cruise terminal or port here, just a pier, and just our single ship visiting for the day. Leaving the pier, and bypassing dozens of locals looking to cash in on tourists, it dosnt take long to work up a sweat. Its stifling, its not the moderate temperature of low 30s Celcius, but the 400% humidity that kills you. You feel as if youre breathing steam. We wandered the streets of Puntarenas for a time, eventually finding an ATM and withdrawing 10,000 Colones ($20USD).
The town itself isn't particularly special or breathtaking. So before long, we head back to the beach. Its nicer here, the sound and sight of the sea, and a refreshing light sea breeze. The beach is nice enough, its not sand but brown dirt, but the swell and sway of the palm trees make it a pleasant sight. We wander the marketplace here, stopping in for a local beer at a cafe; Imperial, not bad at all. Its soon approaching midday, so we return to the ship for a free lunch. By 12.30pm, we are meeting our group on the pier for an organized tour. Our tour for today is a Jungle Crocodile Safari, an hour from the port in a small town at the Tarcoles River. So were soon off, driving along with a fantastic guide named Erika, articulate and informative. On the way, Nat breaks my heart with an apparent sighting of something grey in the tree tops. Grey? It looked like a koala, hugging onto the tree branch? It wasn't moving and seemed lazy? Nooo, that was surely a Sloth and I missed it! Ah, at least I met one the other day.
We would be seeing plenty of wildlife soon enough. We transferred from the bus, to small boats, and set off seeking crocodiles and bird life. We were treated to plenty of both, getting within a metre of giant wild crocodiles. We also spotted Egrets, Spoonbills, Herons, Comorants and Storks. Even a tree squirrel and a couple lizards, a tree Iguana and a Basilisk were spotted. After a couple hours on the river, we were treated to a feast of local fruit; watermelon and the best sweetest pineapple Ive ever tasted.
We are just about back to the ship now. We've been spoiled with the weather again today, with sunshine and not a drop of rain, right in the middle of the wet season here in Costa Rica. I can see rain clouds gathering now for an evening downpour. We have had a great day, exploring the jungle was a great experience, and we've still a lot of similar adventures to look forward to in Mexico.

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Photos

Puntarenas
Dirt Beach