Introduction
Caño Island is 15 kilometres off the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. My husband and I stayed at La Paloma resort on the Osa Peninsula as part of an all-inclusive vacation organized by Costa Rica Expeditions. One of our trips was to Caño Island. We wanted to snorkel for a while and then go ashore to hike the island. We felt it would be a bonus if we saw whales or dolphins on the way and as it turned out, we saw everything and had a wonderful time.
Leaving the Osa Peninsula
As the motor boat leaves La Paloma dock and moves out to sea, the view back to the mainland is spectacular - rolling hills, covered with lush green rain forest, backed by purple mountains barely visible in the morning haze. Today, there is no trickle of yellowish vapour visible in the sky above the mountains. Perhaps we are in the wrong place to see exhaust gases from any of the active volcanoes in Costa Rica.
We are in the boat with a French family of six, two boat men and our guide, Sandra. The spray thrown up as the boat moves along glitters like diamonds in the early morning sun.
About half way to the island, Sandra points, "Look! The Costa Rican Air Force!" And right in front of the boat, flying low over the water in a perfect "V" formation, is a flight of big, brown … pelicans. They do indeed fly with military precision. A wonderful sight.
Then she points again and laughs. ‘There is the Costa Rican Navy!’ We are thrilled to see six or seven spotted dolphins, one swimming very close to the boat. The water is so clear that we see them easily.
Snorkeling at Caño Island
We come close to the island, and drop anchor about 100 yds from the shore. Caño Island is so called because of the number of streams all around it which cascade into the sea during the rainy season. This is the dry season, so today we do not see any waterfalls.
The sea is calm and clear and inviting. We don life jackets, fins and snorkels and drop off the boat right into a shoal of spot tail grunts. It is breathtaking to be under water, watching this huge shoal of hundreds of fish, each about eight inches long, move as one around us. Floating perhaps 20 feet above the sea bed, I feel part of the sea life. There is not as much coral here as I expected, but lots of small rocks, and sea growths waving in the currents.
In almost an hour of snorkeling, we see a band of blue and gold snapper emerging from beneath a rock, blue spotted jack, large blue-green parrot fish everywhere, the Panamanian sergeant with its black stripes, a yellow puffer, dark-blue king angel fish with yellow tails, small scissor-tail damsel fish everywhere, and many, many more. A fantastic experience.
Caño Island
After snorkeling, we climb back into the boat and park at the beach. This is about 100 yards of dark yellow sand, backed by rock and green forest. . There are several tourist groups here already, but it doesn’t feel crowded. ?The numbers of visitors each day are strictly limited to protect the environment. There is a ranger’s station here with toilet facilities.
My husband and I decide to walk across the island as far as we can in the one hour before lunch. It is a small island, about a mile across, and we hope to reach an ancient burial ground on the other side, occupied now by some strange stone spheres, thought to be pre-Colombian.
We take the trail behind the ranger’s station. It is a lovely walk, not much visible wildlife, but peaceful and green, sunlight trickling through a medium height canopy. Doves calling, a bird cheeping softly, lots of leaves underfoot, it is like an English woodland, rather than a tropical forest. After an hour, feeling hungry, we turn back, without reaching the other side.
Sitting on the beach eating lunch, we see the Pacific variety of the Jesus Christ lizard, so called because it can run on water. This is a brown male (the Atlantic one is green) and he emerges from a bush to eat fruit discarded by a tourist. He is magnificent, about 18-inches long and very prehistoric looking with a big crest running from head to tip of tail along his back. He is followed by a female, smaller and more ordinary. He views us haughtily, then disappears back into the bush with his fruit, closely followed by his mate. "Isn’t he ugly!" An American lady close by wrinkles her nose. But I can’t agree. I think he is beautiful.
When lunch has gone down a bit, we wade back to the boat for more snorkeling. I don’t enjoy this as much as the first time. The water is choppy as several boats are dropping off groups of snorkelers. Also, we are close to very large rocks, which makes me uncomfortable. I am not a confident swimmer, so I return to the boat.
Eventually, we are all back in the boat and heading for the Osa Peninsula. Then, what joys! About a hundred yards away, we have a clear sighting of a blue humpback whale with her young. The baby is lying on its back and playing. It flaps its long flippers from side to side across the surface of the sea as the mother does the hump back thing, surfacing with her head then rolling down underwater and flipping her huge tail out of the water. A magnificent display. We are really privileged to see them. All the boats keep their distance, so as not to disturb this little family too much.
Our final sighting is of a pod of dolphins. They are too far to see much detail, but then one make a spectacular leap into the air. Its dark blue body, spraying glittering water, shows up clearly against the sky. How privileged can we get?
Arriving back at La Paloma dock, we walk through its beautiful gardens to get to the hotel. The gardens are filled with flowering shrubs, fruit trees and bits of rainforest. Passing two or three huge water apple trees, we see a troupe of white fronted monkeys enjoying the ripe fruit. They are quite unconcerned by our presence. Why should they be? This is the Costa Rican Army.
Why La Paloma?
There are several lodges on the Osa Peninsula, close to Corcovado National Park. La Paloma was recommended by Costa Rica Expeditions, the local company who planned our trip in Costa Rica and did an excellent job. They transported us around the country in boats, five-seater planes or motor vehicles.
The hotel is comfortable, beautifully situated and the staff are very helpful. Breakfast starts at 5:30 a.m. to cater for guests going out on early morning trips. A telescope on the main terrace tends to be focussed on the resident three-toed sloth.
Final Note
Costa Rica disbanded all its military forces in 1949. So there is no Air Force, Navy, or Army. Instead, the country has invested its money in education and health.
Kris Ramasra - I hope to inform and entertain readers joyfully, sincerely and with integrity.
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