Dawn Paddleboard Through the Nosara Estuary — Mangroves, Macaws and Howler Monkeys

The Nosara river estuary is a wildlife corridor between the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge and the Pacific coast. At dawn, before the wind arrives and before the tourist boats start their engines, it is one of the most tranquil places I know. I do SUP tours at 6:00am when the water is flat and the wildlife is at its most active: scarlet macaws flying from their roost trees, howler monkeys in the mangroves doing their morning announcement, great blue herons standing absolutely still in the shallows. The paddling is easy — the estuary is calm, shallow in most sections, and the route is 1.5 hours of paddling with stops. No experience required; I brief balance and paddle technique in 10 minutes and the rest comes naturally. We end on a sand beach at the river mouth where the estuary meets the Pacific. I bring fresh watermelon and coconut water. It is a legitimately extraordinary morning.