Day 11: Casa Orquideas

This day may have been the high spot for the ship's tour (in a close race with the first day and the visit to Manuel Antonio). Casa Orquideas is a beautiful, private botanical gardens on the Golfo Dulce coast, established by a couple of society dropouts from New Hampshire. If it weren't for the hot, humid weather and the fact that the nearest pizza place is hours away, this would be the life!

We made another stop in the afternoon at a somewhat similar but less mature place, but I don't have any good photographs to share.

Casa Orquideas as it appeared from the ship.

Now just imagine having this as your house...

...and this as your view. I could live with that!

Isa starting our tour of the gardens. You may note the haziness of the photograph: it was actually my first one of the day. We'd been warned about the problem of taking our cameras and binoculars from the cooled-to-a- fare-thee-well confines of our cabins out into the muggy tropical forests, but this was the only time it caught me.

Group standing next to a massive plant.

I just liked these striking, mimosa-like flowers.

Interesting ridged, fan-shaped leaves.

We remember these as miracle fruit: Isa had us swish one of these around in our mouths before and after tasting a lime - after, the lime tasted sweet!

Funky purple leaves.

One of the few cats we encountered on the tour. There were two here, two at the place in the afternoon, and one at Monteverde that we saw only in passing.

Just a sample image of the gorgeous lawn at Orquideas.