Tranquilo Bay

Tranquilo Bay cabana overlooking the Caribbean

The lovely and peaceful eco-lodge, Tranquilo bay (www.tranquilobay.com) is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy a Caribbean rain forest up close.  Yesterday, we spent the day at the Zapatillos National Park, about a 20 minute boat ride across the Sea from Tranquilo Bay.  There you can enjoy a fascinating walk across the island through the forest and along its white sand beaches.  Birds, crabs, bugs, flowers, mushrooms and much more, not to mention the soft green and turquoise water.  We swam and snorkeled along the reef just offshore.

Tranquilo bay's dock on the Caribbean

Upon our arrival, we took a fascinating two hour walk through the rain forest on Tranquilo Bay's property with one of their two resident naturalists, who are extremely knowledgeable about the entire eco-system of the island and the region.  They have remarkable abilities to see all the creatures we seem to miss, pointing them out and discussing how they live, breed, eat, survive and contribute to the overall ecology.  They also know the voluminous plants that thrive here and which animals use them for their survival.  A highlight of the walk is the hummingbird pool where these tiny birds dive into the water with lightning speed to bathe.

beach on island in Zapatillos National Park

A highlight of our walk across the island was seeing a vine snake, a very thin, long, stringy snake that is virtually indistinguishable from the vines covering the trees on which they live.  We could see his tongue slithering in and out of his mouth as he searched for insects on the tree trunk.  There are thousands of hermit crabs carrying all sorts of borrowed items on their backs, from leftover shells to Coke bottle caps. As they outgrow their current home, they discard them and search for another.

Can you find the vine snake?