Day 1: Miami/Panama City, Panama/Colon/Embark Ship
Depart Miami late morning via American Airlines on a non-stop flight to Panama City, with a flying time of about three hours. On arrival, drive to Colon to board the Sea Voyager and set sail for the first part of your Panama Canal transit, anchoring in Gatun Lake for the night. This man-made lake was created in 1913 by damming the Charges River, becoming an important part of the Panama Canal since it forms a bridge between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Because of the lake, ships can pass through the canal either way. Upon reaching this area, guests are often surprised that the Panama Canal is surrounded by rain forest with incredible views no matter where you look. The diversity of the flora and fauna is amazing. In just one small area here, 525 species of birds have been spotted in a single day. Gatun Lake is surrounded by impenetrable jungle and aside from the canal; the area remains virtually untouched by humans.
Accommodations: Sea Voyager
Included Meals: Dinner Day 2: Gatun Lake/Panama Canal Transit
By special arrangement, you'll board Zodiacs this morning for a visit to Barro Colorado Island in Gatun Lake. This area includes two islands that were created when the lake was formed. Guides from the Smithsonian Research Station will accompany you to this pristine island spot, which has become a world-famous center for scientific study. Because of its remoteness, animals from insects all the way up to primates - can be observed in their natural habitats without any outside disturbance at all. In fact, many of the most important biological discoveries involving plants and animals have originated here. Once on the island, you can enjoy the area on foot or by Zodiac. Some of the animals you may see are crested guans, slaty-tailed trogons, white-whiskered puffbirds and a variety of monkeys. After the visit, you'll reboard the Sea Voyager to continue your crossing. Since cargo ships have priority over passenger ships, a daylight crossing may not be available. The nighttime crossing, however, is extremely memorable - especially since the canal is so dramatically lit at night. You'll marvel as you watch the locks lower the ship 85 feet down to sea level, while mules hold the ship in place.
Accommodations: Sea Voyager
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 3: Gulf of Panama Islets
Today, you’ll make good use of the Zodiacs and kayaks as you explore this cluster of islands in the Gulf of Panama. While you will most certainly have a peaceful day, these islands have a less-than-peaceful history. In Pre-Columbian times, an Indian king whose main interest was pearl diving ruled them. Most pearls in the world at that time were found right here. Later on, the islands were home to an array of pirates from all over the world who rested here between looting Spanish fleets. Today, over 35 unique beaches with coral, ebony and black sand fringe these calm turquoise waters. The islands are covered with hills carpeted with thick green vegetation. Along with the expedition’s naturalists, you'll enjoy an exciting introduction to the region's varied bird life. You'll observe large numbers of roosting and nesting seabirds: magnificent frigate birds, brown pelicans and blue-footed boobies of Galapagos fame.
Accommodations: Sea Voyager
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 4: Isla Coiba National Park
Crossing into Panama, you’ll explore one of its national parks, protecting three kinds of habitats: the island, the reef and the sea life. As the ship anchors near the little island of Granito Del Oro, you can see the coast of Panama on the horizon. Isla Coiba includes thousands upon thousands of acres, 80% of it ocean. The eastern Pacific has very few living coral reefs because the water is too cool, but the exception lies here. These waters are full of life with over 69 species of fish living among the healthy coral. You can hike the interior or snorkel the hours away among sea turtles, sea stars and schools of anchovies. Parrotfish decorate the algae and, if you're lucky, you may see the rare bifin or bifin spazus, which can weigh up to 300 lbs. The natural history staff will assist both novice and expert snorkelers, so that anyone with a desire can see the wonderland below. For those who prefer something drier, the Undersea Specialist shoots underwater video and displays the footage during your evening recap.
Accommodations: Sea Voyager
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 5: Gulfo Dulce Costa Rica
Today you’ll make your first landfall in Costa Rica with a beautiful destination, Casa Orquideas, a privately owned tropical garden accessible only by boat and special invitation. Ron and Trudy MacAllister put this garden together over 20 years of collecting local rain forest plants and trading them with other botanical gardens. To see these varied and colorful plants in such a lush, natural setting is almost dreamlike. Here you’ll roam among a profusion of orchids, spotting tanagers, parrots and gaudy toucans. Later, take some time to explore the forested bays of Golfo Dulce, ideal for kayaking and swimming. The mangrove forest that lines the shoreline forms a unique ecosystem you will observe up close on kayaks. The bird watching is wonderful and you'll look for birds with names as colorful as their feathers: black-crowned tityra, fiery-billed aracari, chestnut-mandibled toucans and scarlet macaws.
Accommodations: Sea Voyager
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 6: Osa Peninsula
This morning, the Sea Voyager anchors off the remote Osa Peninsula in the environs of Corcovado National Park. The exact landing area for the day will depend on sea conditions, but whichever spot is chosen will offer many options for spending the day. The park projects into the Pacific like a bony thumb bent downwards towards Panama and ranks among the finest national parks in Costa Rica. Until recently, it was one of the most inaccessible rainforests, so it is quite rich and untouched. You may stop at San Pedrillo or San Josecito, enjoying a beach barbeque for lunch. After dining al fresco in such a beautiful location, choose from snorkeling, horseback riding, beachcombing, swimming in waterfall pools, or simply resting in a hammock as the breezes pass over you. Leaving late in the afternoon, heading to the next destination, you will possibly spot tropical spotted dolphins, sea turtles and manta rays breaking water as they swim alongside the ship.
Accommodations: Sea Voyager
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 7: Manuel Antonio National Park
Because the abundant wildlife here is most active in the early morning, you'll get an early start, arriving here before breakfast. Lethargic, three-toed sloths remain statue-like in the dense trees. Although the sloths may be easy to spot, it often takes the expert eye of a naturalist to point out the monkeys or vividly colored birds as they swing or zip through the forest. Where to begin with the endless possibilities in this park? White-throated capuchin monkeys, agoutis, howler monkeys, white-nosed coatis, squirrel monkeys, white-lined sac-winged bats, and tamandua anteaters are all well within reach here. Birders will be happy, too, with the possibility of seeing the purple crown fairy, bare-throated tiger heron, orange chinned parakeet and so much more. The smallest kingfisher on the continent is the American pygmy kingfisher. It's hard to spot, but the naturalists often can find one for those with the patience to wait.
Accommodations: Sea Voyager
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 8: Herradura/Disembark Ship/Carara Biological Reserve/Monteverde Cloud Forest
Surely you're familiar with rain forests, but have you ever been to a cloud forest? You'll visit to Costa Rica's Carara Biological Reserve, a tropical forest, known for its varied wildlife, including monkeys, iguanas, the endangered scarlet macaw and huge American crocodiles that crawl out on the river banks. A scenic drive up the mountain takes you to Monteverde Cloud Forest, an acclaimed private reserve. It is called a cloud forest rather than a rain forest because of its high altitude - the clouds literally go right through the forest. Bathed in cool, year-round moisture, the forest is covered with mosses and 300 species of orchids.
A scenic drive up the mountain takes you to Monteverde Cloud Forest, an acclaimed private reserve established by the Quakers in the 1970s. You'll meet the daughter of one of the original homesteaders. Bathed in cool, year-round moisture, the forest is covered with lichens, mosses and 300 species of orchids. Two nights will be spent at a charming, family-owned lodge.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 9: Monteverde Cloud Forest
A morning visit to a butterfly garden focuses on species native to the Monteverde area. Later, you’ll continue to explore Monteverde's forest trails rich with butterflies, insects and birds. Watch for the rare resplendent quetzal and the often heard, but rarely seen, mantled howler monkeys.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 10: Monteverde/Arenal
Today you experience the Skywalk, a series of suspension bridges, to get a bird's-eye view of the forest canopy, considered the last frontier of the tropical cloud forest, still poorly understood and little studied. Later, take a leisurely 3½-hour drive to Arenal, past verdant Tilaran, where the hilltops are lined with modern windmills. The country road winds through pastures of Brahmin cattle and around Lake Arenal, Costa Rica's largest lake adorned by the mighty Arenal Volcano.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 11: Arenal Volcano
Explore rain-forested trails and take the afternoon for volcano gazing. At sunset, find out more about this smoldering colossus from a local vulcanologist working with OVSICORI, a leading institute in charge of monitoring Arenal as well as seismic activity throughout the region.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 12: Arenal/Sarapiqui
Cross the northern plains leading to the rich rain forests of Sarapiqui. After lunch, visit the pre-Columbian- styled Sarapiqui Neotropical Center. Visit the center's Museum of Contemporary Indigenous Culture and its botanical garden, highlighting medicinal and edible plants used by ancient cultures. Tour an excavation site at the Center and discover how indigenous peoples lived in these wild environs. Settle in for the night at nearby Sueio Azul, a working hacienda and spa.
Included Meals: Breakfast Day 13: Sarapiqui
Explore the hacienda's peaceful grounds, where the Sardinal and Rio Frio rivers meet. Tour its forested property on horseback or via tractor pull and play in soothing natural springs and soft cascades hidden among the lush foliage. Spend the late afternoon relaxing, swimming in the pool or sampling spa treatments. After dinner, experience the rain forest at night with a visit to La Selva, a well-known site for research on tropical ecology.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 14: La Paz Waterfall Gardens/San Jose
Reach out and touch five magnificent waterfalls from a series of observation decks set on the banks of a cool forested canyon. These well-maintained trails descend through a fascinating butterfly and hummingbird garden. After lunch, enjoy a scenic route to the central plateau and capital city San Jose.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 15: San Jose/Miami
This morning you will be driven to the airport for flights home.
Included Meals: Breakfast |
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