River safari making a splash in Costa Rica
Story and Photos by Patricia Alisau
For a safari, travelers are more likely to look to Africa than Costa Rica. The northern hub of the country, however, has its own home-grown variety. Instead of rhinos, elephants and lions, tourists get to venture embarrassingly close to winged beauties, primates and tree herbivores. Welcome to the Palo Verde National Park where a” floating safari” is making a splash these days among the ranks of eco friendly activities for which the country is famous.
The park is located in the province of Guanacaste, well-known for cattle ranching and seceding from Nicaragua over 175 years ago. The boat trip runs along a virgin rain forest bursting with wildlife and shuttered off from the public until now. Who couldn’t imagine the thrill of being among the first to explore its nooks and crannies?
That’s what I was thinking anyway. And it didn’t disappoint. No sooner was I aboard the rugged barge that seats about 20 than we were slowly cruising into the heart of the Rio Tempisque marshland. Ten minutes out and I spotted a greenback heron. Soon, it was teeming with others circling overhead scouting for the perfect spot in the river to score a snack.
It was late afternoon when birds came out to feed on whatever is on or under the water. Our guide pointed out greenback herons, boat-billed herons, tiger herons, great egrets, sand pipers, cattle egrets and the lone Baltimore oriole. But best of all, they flew so close to the boat that I didn’t need binoculars to see them, which is almost unheard of in bird watching trips. Also unheard of is to spot so many birds within a half-hour of shoving off the docks.
The biggest wetlands in the driest part of Costa Rica, Palo Verde covers 45,500 acres of wetlands and 15 different habitats including mangroves, swampy forests, freshwater marshes and dry forests. It attracts over 350 species including close to 200 native and migrating birds besides being home to the scarlet macaw, not found elsewhere on the Pacific coast.
As the boat pulled close to shore, other denizens of the wetlands came into view – white-faced capuchin monkeys. Leaping out on tree branches, they were no more than 15 feet from the boat and were foraging for bird’s eggs and tiny iguanas. Then like wizards, they were gone in a flash.
Big iguanas, however, were out in force as this was mating season. Turning their green-colored coats orange, the males looked like billboards announcing their arrival to the mating dance. I even saw what looked like a nuzzling couple. Turning off into a narrow waterway, the boat next headed for Bird Island, a tiny tuft of land no more than a couple acres long. The herons called soldaditos or little soldiers were lined up at water’s edge like they were waiting for a bus, but were, in fact, waiting to snatch tiny crustaceans swimming to shore.
And while the river looked tempting enough for a swim, our guide warned against it, pointing to a couple American crocodiles sunning themselves on the bank. The creatures can grow up to 15 feet long, he said.
Before the excursion, I had a lunch of country cooking at the Hacienda el Viejo, an opulent two-story ranch house once owned by Nicaraguan strongman Anastasio Somoza, who was ousted from office in 1979 by Sandinista rebels. Renovated and repurposed and surrounded by cane fields and well-kept gardens, the hacienda had a terrific view of the cordillera and opened to groups the same time the river tours started. Folk dancers from local schools performed during lunch. El Viejo is about a 10-minute drive away.
All in all, the day had been like a peek at a Noah’s Ark of river habitués, much like an African safari but closer to home.
Getting there: The closest airport to Guanacaste is at the city of Liberia, the capital of the province. U.S. carriers fly there from several American hubs, such as Delta from Atlanta, Continental from Houston and Newark, American from Miami, United from Chicago and US Airways from Charlotte. Local Costa Rican airlines schedule connecting hops to Liberia from the country's main airport in San Jose.
Staying there: Among the beach properties at Guanacaste is the newly-opened Riu Guanacaste (www.riu.com) located on an isolated Pacific cove, ideal if you want to get away from it all while luxury is just a few steps away. With 700 rooms, the all-inclusive resort has its own casino and six restaurants and six bars when you have the urge to sip and sup. The Riu is 20 miles from the Liberia airport and runs tours to Palo Verde as well as other parts of the peninsula.
When to go: The best months are November-April when the rainy season is over.
