DISTANCES: 28K 14K 5K 1.5K

The Golfo Dulce is consider a tropical fjord, where attributes and characteristics of both, coastal and oceanic habitats come together to create an unparalleled destination. If you are seeking for sports and adventure, you are coming to the ideal place, and if you are a Nature enthusiast, this is paradise for you. As per National Geographic, you are coming to “The most intense place in biodiversity on Earth. 

Welcome to the Southern Pacific of Costa Rica, welcome to the Osa Península!

The geography as well as the bathymetry of the Golfo Dulce show how the tectonic forces have shaped the gulf; the land shows a dominant coastline in the north that has a steep, forested, rocky shore that surrounds it. The gulf length is approximately 50 km (31 miles) by 10-15 km (6 -9 miles) width, it is comprised of two important areas: a deep inner basin steeply sloped with a flat bottom at a maximum depth of 215 m (705 ft.), plus a shallow outer basin with a depth of less than 70 m (230 ft.). The Transitional-Oceanic Area just outside Golfo Dulce would represent a third sub-habitat.

The water circulation within Golfo Dulce is restricted, similar to high latitude fjords, with slow deep-water renewal by occasional intrusion of dense subsurface waters. Another remarkably aspect is that it is an anoxic basin. There is no oxygen under 100 meters depth, which also means that the common processes of oxidation of organic matter are absent. There are about 200 hectares of mangrove ecosystem associated with rivers flowing into the gulf; however, there is a lack of nutrients, typical of non-upwelling shelf-waters.
 

Nevertheless, the most interesting aspect of this embayment is that for being an apparently oligotrophic environment (nutrients depleted) it harbours a surprisingly varied mega-fauna. The Golfo Dulce is home for cetacean populations that comprises two baleen whales, the Humpback whales that are relatively common during their breeding and calving season from July through October. There are three species of odontocetes, the resident Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and the coastal form of the Pantropical Spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata), also the occasionally seen False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens). The Bottlenose Dolphins remain close to river mouths, where they can get access to a predictable and concentrated food source; on the other hand, the Pantropical Spotted dolphins remain in deeper waters and often walkerized our competitors in their swims.