Our incredible week in the Osa
Jul 20th, 2016, 08:15 AM
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Our incredible week in the Osa
Hello,
We are a couple from NYC that just returned from Costa Rica. There is a lot that has already been written about the Osa and Bosque del Cabo specifically on Fodors, but if you are considering a trip in this part of the world, I hope you find this helpful.
We are a couple from NYC that just returned from Costa Rica. There is a lot that has already been written about the Osa and Bosque del Cabo specifically on Fodors, but if you are considering a trip in this part of the world, I hope you find this helpful.
Jul 20th, 2016, 08:17 AM
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For my 40th birthday this year, Ajit and I made last minute plans to travel to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica for a week in July. I wasn’t keen on having a birthday party and the thought of escaping to the jungle to celebrate this next decade of my life with my travel and life partner seemed perfect. We had looked into traveling there in March 2014, but the ocean front cabins in Bosque del Cabo, the lodge we wanted to stay at, were unavailable during the busy season when people book months in advance. July being the start of the rainy season or winter in Costa Rica meant we would be traveling in low season, so not only did we get the cabin we wanted for our stay, but we also got a discount – 6 nights for the price of 5. Sweet! Flights were harder to come by, but we managed to get tickets on Delta via Altanta and onwards to Puerto Jimenez on Sansa Air.
Why Osa? It’s where the tropical rainforest meets the wild Pacific and calmer waters of the Golfo Dulce. An unspoiled paradise of magnificent rain forests with an abundance of wildlife, miles of empty black sand beaches, and sleepy backwater towns jutting off the south western tip of Costa Rica close to the border with Panama. Somewhat off the beaten road compared to the more well-trodden places like Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio and Guanacaste.
Costa Rica has long been renowned for its incredible biodiversity; a small, yet environmentally rich country that is home to over 5% of the entire world's animal and plant species. The Osa Peninsula, measuring just 35 miles long and 20 miles wide, is home to half of all the species in Costa Rica, that's an astonishing 2.5% of the entire biodiversity of the planet, living on a mere 0.00000085% of the earth's total surface area. As a result, it is home to over 700 species of trees, which is more than all the North temperate regions of the world combined. There are 117 species of reptiles and amphibians, 365 species of birds and over 120 species of mammals. Its forests are home to endangered species such as Baird's tapir, the white-lipped peccary, the American crocodile, the harpy eagle and the Central American squirrel monkey. The National Geographic magazine described it as "the most biologically intense place on earth".
Fascinating, isn’t it? I was sold.
We arrive in San Jose on July 9th at 9:30 pm having left NYC at 1 in the afternoon. We get cash at the ATM before taking an official orange taxi to our hotel for the night, Villa San Ignacio in Alajuela, the small town close to the airport. The hotel is about 15 minutes away up in the hills. Mario, at the front desk, checks us in, and on learning that we’re originally from India, pulls out his phone to show us a picture of Kumalini, a girl working at one of the big tech firms in Bengaluru that he met over the phone while she helped him troubleshoot an IT issue. They’ve since become fast friends and have made plans to visit each other. Very interesting! Our room up on the second floor, is large and comfortable. A nice hot shower later, we fall asleep as soon as we lay our heads on the pillows. Our flight to Puerto Jimenez is at 8:24am, so we’re up early with the birds and have breakfast – fresh mango juice, tea, fruits, banana bread and eggs - by the pool before taking a taxi to the Sansa terminal. We’ve packed lightly for this trip and it’s a good thing because not only are the check in bags weighed, but so are we along with our carry-ons. We arrive at the airport 45 mins ahead of time, but then sit around in a small room reading the FT until we board a minute before departure. I’m thinking I’m very glad I took a Dramamine this morning as we board the 14 passenger single propeller Cessna. We’ve been on a bush plane in Tanzania but this one looks smaller. Not to worry, the flight is smooth and the views incredible as we fly over verdant hills and plains and along the Pacific for an hour before landing (gently I might add) in Puerto Jimenez. Right next to a cemetery. We spend the next hour bumping along potholed country roads all the way to Bosque. But, not before we stop to see a three toed sloth hanging upside down eating some leaves up on a roadside tree. Our driver had seen the sloth on the way to the airport this morning so he was easy to find the second time. So exciting! It’s the cutest little thing. Sloths are solitary and the three toed sloth usually stays up high in the rainforest canopy which when combined with their sluggish movements make them hard to spot.
As we go up the Bosque driveway to the reception area, we spot a large family of coatis eating mangoes and a couple of agouti and great currasows. What fun. We check in, drink refreshing ginger lemonades (and which we will sorely miss) and walk over to our cabina, Lapa, high up on the cliffs with an expansive view over the cliff side canopy and across the Golfo Dulce. It’s a wooden cabina with a steep thatched roof like the others, and has a porch with a hammock and rocking chairs as well as a deck with a couple of lounge chairs overlooking the water. The cabin itself is tastefully decorated, rustic but elegant, just the way we like it. And, the outdoor shower is neat. We unpack, freshen up and walk around the property, check out the vista from the Creek trail and go across the suspension bridge to the Tropical Garden. The large family of female and several baby coatis (they belong to the raccoon family) by the mango trees are hilarious as they all stop in their tracks and go into “statue” mode with their tails up in the air for several seconds when they hear us walking by. Then scurry in different directions and up the trees, until we walk away. The male coatis are solitary, continue eating their mangoes and don’t seem fazed. The agouti are bigger than guinea pigs, and munch on fruits and leaves sitting on their hind legs. Quite cute, given how much I hate/am scared of the large bandicoot rats in India. I think it’s because the agoutis are missing a tail. The Bosque property is over 800 acres and includes open areas with palms and fruit trees as well as many trails through primary and secondary rainforest. On the way to the suspension bridge, we also see several migratory diurnal Green Urania moths flitting along the trail. Gorgeous.
For lunch, it’s fish tacos for me and a casado (typical Costa Rican meal) with chicken, grilled veggies, tacos, rice & beans for Ajit. Afterwards, we take a nice nap on our porch – me swinging in the hammock and Ajit on the lounge chairs. The sounds of the many birds in the trees and the waves crashing against the rocks below lull us to sleep. We wake up to a loud squawking followed by a brilliant flash of blue and red as a group of scarlet macaws fly across in front of us. Lapa Roja – that’s what they’re called in Spanish. Sigh! We also see turkey vultures make their rounds and watch a couple of coatis right next to the cabin. Our plan was to hike the Titi trail at 3:30, but it starts pouring rain at 3. It’s the rainforest after all. We hang out in the restaurant with coffee and cookies and later some ginger lemonades and watch the rain come down in sheets. When the rain slows down a little, the spider monkeys come out to play and swing from tree to tree in front of us. It finally stops raining around 6, which is perfect as it’s time for Philip’s sunset walk. So, off we go with him. Philip, the resident biologist from the north east of England who has been at Bosque for the last 16 years, takes us around the gardens for an hour pointing out various types of spiders including the Golden Orb spider, Tent Making bats, frogs (venomous and otherwise, a mating pair), paper wasps, and a snake, explaining their characteristics, biology and how they survive within the rainforest eco system. All of this is fascinating, and the best tip we get is to shine our flashlights to the ground holding it up next to our eyes to see thousands of brilliant diamond sparkles on the grass that look like dew drops but in fact are spider eyes. Yikes! That, and the mom and baby Western Red bats nesting within the confines of the thatched leaves hanging from the roof is pretty cool. Philip is extremely knowledgeable and a great storyteller with fun anecdotes, making his tours a must do for anyone staying at Bosque.
The dinner gong sounds at 7 and we sit on communal tables and enjoy a delicious buffet style spread of squash soup, grilled veggies, pork with a tamarind sauce, red snapper with a coconut sauce, rice & beans and brownies with ice cream. The spread is similar every night with different soups, veggies, proteins and dessert. We eat so much we are stuffed. We also get to meet the other guests at the lodge and conversation flows. We end our first night in the Osa with a couple of Imperial beers at the bar.
Why Osa? It’s where the tropical rainforest meets the wild Pacific and calmer waters of the Golfo Dulce. An unspoiled paradise of magnificent rain forests with an abundance of wildlife, miles of empty black sand beaches, and sleepy backwater towns jutting off the south western tip of Costa Rica close to the border with Panama. Somewhat off the beaten road compared to the more well-trodden places like Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio and Guanacaste.
Costa Rica has long been renowned for its incredible biodiversity; a small, yet environmentally rich country that is home to over 5% of the entire world's animal and plant species. The Osa Peninsula, measuring just 35 miles long and 20 miles wide, is home to half of all the species in Costa Rica, that's an astonishing 2.5% of the entire biodiversity of the planet, living on a mere 0.00000085% of the earth's total surface area. As a result, it is home to over 700 species of trees, which is more than all the North temperate regions of the world combined. There are 117 species of reptiles and amphibians, 365 species of birds and over 120 species of mammals. Its forests are home to endangered species such as Baird's tapir, the white-lipped peccary, the American crocodile, the harpy eagle and the Central American squirrel monkey. The National Geographic magazine described it as "the most biologically intense place on earth".
Fascinating, isn’t it? I was sold.
We arrive in San Jose on July 9th at 9:30 pm having left NYC at 1 in the afternoon. We get cash at the ATM before taking an official orange taxi to our hotel for the night, Villa San Ignacio in Alajuela, the small town close to the airport. The hotel is about 15 minutes away up in the hills. Mario, at the front desk, checks us in, and on learning that we’re originally from India, pulls out his phone to show us a picture of Kumalini, a girl working at one of the big tech firms in Bengaluru that he met over the phone while she helped him troubleshoot an IT issue. They’ve since become fast friends and have made plans to visit each other. Very interesting! Our room up on the second floor, is large and comfortable. A nice hot shower later, we fall asleep as soon as we lay our heads on the pillows. Our flight to Puerto Jimenez is at 8:24am, so we’re up early with the birds and have breakfast – fresh mango juice, tea, fruits, banana bread and eggs - by the pool before taking a taxi to the Sansa terminal. We’ve packed lightly for this trip and it’s a good thing because not only are the check in bags weighed, but so are we along with our carry-ons. We arrive at the airport 45 mins ahead of time, but then sit around in a small room reading the FT until we board a minute before departure. I’m thinking I’m very glad I took a Dramamine this morning as we board the 14 passenger single propeller Cessna. We’ve been on a bush plane in Tanzania but this one looks smaller. Not to worry, the flight is smooth and the views incredible as we fly over verdant hills and plains and along the Pacific for an hour before landing (gently I might add) in Puerto Jimenez. Right next to a cemetery. We spend the next hour bumping along potholed country roads all the way to Bosque. But, not before we stop to see a three toed sloth hanging upside down eating some leaves up on a roadside tree. Our driver had seen the sloth on the way to the airport this morning so he was easy to find the second time. So exciting! It’s the cutest little thing. Sloths are solitary and the three toed sloth usually stays up high in the rainforest canopy which when combined with their sluggish movements make them hard to spot.
As we go up the Bosque driveway to the reception area, we spot a large family of coatis eating mangoes and a couple of agouti and great currasows. What fun. We check in, drink refreshing ginger lemonades (and which we will sorely miss) and walk over to our cabina, Lapa, high up on the cliffs with an expansive view over the cliff side canopy and across the Golfo Dulce. It’s a wooden cabina with a steep thatched roof like the others, and has a porch with a hammock and rocking chairs as well as a deck with a couple of lounge chairs overlooking the water. The cabin itself is tastefully decorated, rustic but elegant, just the way we like it. And, the outdoor shower is neat. We unpack, freshen up and walk around the property, check out the vista from the Creek trail and go across the suspension bridge to the Tropical Garden. The large family of female and several baby coatis (they belong to the raccoon family) by the mango trees are hilarious as they all stop in their tracks and go into “statue” mode with their tails up in the air for several seconds when they hear us walking by. Then scurry in different directions and up the trees, until we walk away. The male coatis are solitary, continue eating their mangoes and don’t seem fazed. The agouti are bigger than guinea pigs, and munch on fruits and leaves sitting on their hind legs. Quite cute, given how much I hate/am scared of the large bandicoot rats in India. I think it’s because the agoutis are missing a tail. The Bosque property is over 800 acres and includes open areas with palms and fruit trees as well as many trails through primary and secondary rainforest. On the way to the suspension bridge, we also see several migratory diurnal Green Urania moths flitting along the trail. Gorgeous.
For lunch, it’s fish tacos for me and a casado (typical Costa Rican meal) with chicken, grilled veggies, tacos, rice & beans for Ajit. Afterwards, we take a nice nap on our porch – me swinging in the hammock and Ajit on the lounge chairs. The sounds of the many birds in the trees and the waves crashing against the rocks below lull us to sleep. We wake up to a loud squawking followed by a brilliant flash of blue and red as a group of scarlet macaws fly across in front of us. Lapa Roja – that’s what they’re called in Spanish. Sigh! We also see turkey vultures make their rounds and watch a couple of coatis right next to the cabin. Our plan was to hike the Titi trail at 3:30, but it starts pouring rain at 3. It’s the rainforest after all. We hang out in the restaurant with coffee and cookies and later some ginger lemonades and watch the rain come down in sheets. When the rain slows down a little, the spider monkeys come out to play and swing from tree to tree in front of us. It finally stops raining around 6, which is perfect as it’s time for Philip’s sunset walk. So, off we go with him. Philip, the resident biologist from the north east of England who has been at Bosque for the last 16 years, takes us around the gardens for an hour pointing out various types of spiders including the Golden Orb spider, Tent Making bats, frogs (venomous and otherwise, a mating pair), paper wasps, and a snake, explaining their characteristics, biology and how they survive within the rainforest eco system. All of this is fascinating, and the best tip we get is to shine our flashlights to the ground holding it up next to our eyes to see thousands of brilliant diamond sparkles on the grass that look like dew drops but in fact are spider eyes. Yikes! That, and the mom and baby Western Red bats nesting within the confines of the thatched leaves hanging from the roof is pretty cool. Philip is extremely knowledgeable and a great storyteller with fun anecdotes, making his tours a must do for anyone staying at Bosque.
The dinner gong sounds at 7 and we sit on communal tables and enjoy a delicious buffet style spread of squash soup, grilled veggies, pork with a tamarind sauce, red snapper with a coconut sauce, rice & beans and brownies with ice cream. The spread is similar every night with different soups, veggies, proteins and dessert. We eat so much we are stuffed. We also get to meet the other guests at the lodge and conversation flows. We end our first night in the Osa with a couple of Imperial beers at the bar.
Jul 20th, 2016, 09:39 AM
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We love Bosque del Cabo too - sounds like you guys had a great time. Isn't the wildlife amazing? Looking forward to reading more about your adventure. We went in July as well; I think that's a great time to go.
Jul 20th, 2016, 05:14 PM
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Indeed, volcanogirl. I knew we would love it, but it exceeded our expectations, both Bosque and the Osa. Glad we went in July as well. Not too much rain, but enough to cool temperatures down and I love the smell of the rain, the wet earth and the feel of the breeze in the tropics. Fewer crowds and cheaper prices are a bonus as well.
Working on Day 2...stay tuned.
Working on Day 2...stay tuned.
Jul 20th, 2016, 06:40 PM
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<b><u> Day 2: </b></u>
The bed in our cabina is so comfortable that we have a really good night’s sleep. I’m a light sleeper and didn’t wake up once in the middle of the night! We have an early morning alarm to get ready for a 6am birding tour scheduled with Carlos. Unfortunately, it’s raining hard at 5 and continues to pour even at 6, so we have to cancel. Poor Carlos had to drive up all the way from Puerto Jimenez in the heavy rain. Since he’s here, we talk to him about going on his afternoon birding tour at 3:30 if the weather holds up. He also generously lends us his binoculars since we forgot ours back home. We get some coffee, check email at the bar, play with Edie (owners Kim and Phil’s cockapoo pup) and have breakfast at 7 - a fruit plate, granola and yogurt for Ajit and banana pancakes for me. Delish. The sun comes out by 7:30, so we decide to hike the Titi trail this morning. It’s about half a mile up the driveway and a mile through secondary rain forest. It’s pretty quiet this morning, the animals and birds seem to be hiding out after the heavy rain. We do see a pair of Great Currasows, male and female, large birds native to the Central American rainforests. On the Titi trail, we are most excited to see our first Chestnut-mandibled Toucan. We saw toucans in Guatemala a few years ago in Tikal, but they were so high up in the rainforest canopy that we could barely see them even with our binoculars. Toucans are unique looking birds, brightly colored with a large bill to scoop up and swallow fruits and insects, and they hop from branch to branch. We also see a Pale-billed Woodpecker, another gorgeous bird, high up on a tree a few feet away from the trail. We see spider monkeys move through the canopy with a mom carrying a baby on her back and hear the loud howls of howler monkeys reverberating through the rainforest. We debate hiking the Saino trail but it’s a 2.5 hour loop, and with the ground very slushy after the rains we decide to skip it and head back to the lodge. A refreshing ginger lemonade break followed by lunch and lounging in our cabina deck is how we spend our early afternoon. Plans for a nap are ruined with all the interesting activity around us – lots of toucans, turkey vultures, a group of scarlet macaws, spider monkeys and a beautiful Golden-hooded Tanager in the tree next to us. We take a short walk down the Manakin trail and grab a coffee before heading out with Carlos for our birding tour.
We drive about 15 minutes away to open farmland bordering the ocean with hills in the distance. Horses and cows graze against dark skies threatening rain. And, there are birds everywhere, easier to spot too since we're not in the jungle. Carlos pulls out his Swarovski telescope and in the hour we are there, we see about 25 different species of birds. I'll include a bird list at the end, but we see Caracaras, different types of Tanagers, Flycatchers, Woodpeckers, Seedeaters, Parrots, Parakeets, Herons and of course the Macaws. The telescope is great as we can see all the little details clearly of even the smallest birds in the far distance. It's a fantastic afternoon capped off with another sloth sighting on our drive back.
Back at Bpsque, we relax at the bar with drinks before dinner. Tonight, that includes tomato soup, with a wonderful grilled chicken, beef with porcini sauce and passion fruit pie for dessert. It rains during dinner but only for an hour or so. Thus ends another lovely day in the Osa.
List of birds (including those seen at Bosque on other days):
Great Curassow
Roadside Hawk
Bare throated Tiger Heron
White Ibis Juvenile
Southern Lapwing
Turkey Vulture
Grey-necked Wood-rail
Pearl Kite
Crested Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara
Ruddy brown Dove
Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Scarlet Macaw
Red-lored Parrot
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Golden-naped Woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
Grey-capped Flycatcher
Streaked Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Black crowned Tityra
Masked Tityra
White-lined Tanager
Cherrie's Tanager
Blue grey Tanager
Palm Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Variable Seedeater
Ruddy breasted Seedeater
Smooth-billed Annie
Blue black Grassquit
Easter Meadow Lark
Clay colored Thrush
Great Kiskadee
Blue-crowned Manakin
Amazon Kingfisher
The bed in our cabina is so comfortable that we have a really good night’s sleep. I’m a light sleeper and didn’t wake up once in the middle of the night! We have an early morning alarm to get ready for a 6am birding tour scheduled with Carlos. Unfortunately, it’s raining hard at 5 and continues to pour even at 6, so we have to cancel. Poor Carlos had to drive up all the way from Puerto Jimenez in the heavy rain. Since he’s here, we talk to him about going on his afternoon birding tour at 3:30 if the weather holds up. He also generously lends us his binoculars since we forgot ours back home. We get some coffee, check email at the bar, play with Edie (owners Kim and Phil’s cockapoo pup) and have breakfast at 7 - a fruit plate, granola and yogurt for Ajit and banana pancakes for me. Delish. The sun comes out by 7:30, so we decide to hike the Titi trail this morning. It’s about half a mile up the driveway and a mile through secondary rain forest. It’s pretty quiet this morning, the animals and birds seem to be hiding out after the heavy rain. We do see a pair of Great Currasows, male and female, large birds native to the Central American rainforests. On the Titi trail, we are most excited to see our first Chestnut-mandibled Toucan. We saw toucans in Guatemala a few years ago in Tikal, but they were so high up in the rainforest canopy that we could barely see them even with our binoculars. Toucans are unique looking birds, brightly colored with a large bill to scoop up and swallow fruits and insects, and they hop from branch to branch. We also see a Pale-billed Woodpecker, another gorgeous bird, high up on a tree a few feet away from the trail. We see spider monkeys move through the canopy with a mom carrying a baby on her back and hear the loud howls of howler monkeys reverberating through the rainforest. We debate hiking the Saino trail but it’s a 2.5 hour loop, and with the ground very slushy after the rains we decide to skip it and head back to the lodge. A refreshing ginger lemonade break followed by lunch and lounging in our cabina deck is how we spend our early afternoon. Plans for a nap are ruined with all the interesting activity around us – lots of toucans, turkey vultures, a group of scarlet macaws, spider monkeys and a beautiful Golden-hooded Tanager in the tree next to us. We take a short walk down the Manakin trail and grab a coffee before heading out with Carlos for our birding tour.
We drive about 15 minutes away to open farmland bordering the ocean with hills in the distance. Horses and cows graze against dark skies threatening rain. And, there are birds everywhere, easier to spot too since we're not in the jungle. Carlos pulls out his Swarovski telescope and in the hour we are there, we see about 25 different species of birds. I'll include a bird list at the end, but we see Caracaras, different types of Tanagers, Flycatchers, Woodpeckers, Seedeaters, Parrots, Parakeets, Herons and of course the Macaws. The telescope is great as we can see all the little details clearly of even the smallest birds in the far distance. It's a fantastic afternoon capped off with another sloth sighting on our drive back.
Back at Bpsque, we relax at the bar with drinks before dinner. Tonight, that includes tomato soup, with a wonderful grilled chicken, beef with porcini sauce and passion fruit pie for dessert. It rains during dinner but only for an hour or so. Thus ends another lovely day in the Osa.
List of birds (including those seen at Bosque on other days):
Great Curassow
Roadside Hawk
Bare throated Tiger Heron
White Ibis Juvenile
Southern Lapwing
Turkey Vulture
Grey-necked Wood-rail
Pearl Kite
Crested Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara
Ruddy brown Dove
Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Scarlet Macaw
Red-lored Parrot
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Golden-naped Woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
Grey-capped Flycatcher
Streaked Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Black crowned Tityra
Masked Tityra
White-lined Tanager
Cherrie's Tanager
Blue grey Tanager
Palm Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Variable Seedeater
Ruddy breasted Seedeater
Smooth-billed Annie
Blue black Grassquit
Easter Meadow Lark
Clay colored Thrush
Great Kiskadee
Blue-crowned Manakin
Amazon Kingfisher
Jul 21st, 2016, 05:29 PM
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<b><u> Day 3: </b></u>
Our third morning at Bosque is clear and bright. We get into a routine of waking up around 5:15 every morning and taking a walk through the gardens and driveway before breakfast. This morning, we see the beautiful Blue Morpho butterflies. They’re large almost as big as my palm and a shimmering metallic blue, which is not pigmentation but caused by the reflection of light off the scales on their wings. We see the usual group of coatis slurping on coconuts, a roadside hawk, a large group of white faced capuchin monkeys as well as spider monkeys swinging through the trees, four toucans hopping between trees, and get a fleeting glimpse of five white collared peccaries before they scramble into the forest. Peccaries are mammals that look a lot like wild pigs. We had hoped to see them on the Titi trail yesterday so are glad to see them today.
After breakfast, we go on the four hour primary forest tour through the Zapatero trail with Philip. Very highly recommended as it's a great way to learn more about the flora and fauna that together make this ecosystem what it is and allows us to truly appreciate our surroundings. Most fascinating are the leaf cutter ants, that operate under some of the most complex social caste structures in the animal world with very specific roles and responsibilities.
Fueled by a lunch of arroz con pollo, we walk down the many steps of the Pacific trail, catching glimpses of the ocean through the trees, to a secluded black sand beach bordered by the lush tropical rainforest and accessible only at low tide - we walk alongside the crashing waves, in and out of rocky tide pools filled with hermit crabs, sea urchins, mussels and on a sandy stretch to get to a spring fed waterfall hidden behind a trail off the beach. We turn around at the trail and make our way back the same way, stopping to take a break at a wooden platform setup with chairs offering a lovely view of the water. It's a chance to catch our breath before we trudge up the many steps.
Back by 3:45, we enjoy a nice shower, a swing on the hammock and catch up with Kim and the other guests at the bar. They have snacks every day at 5:45 and this evening it's cucumber slices with a spicy peanut chicken, hummus with carrots and toasted focaccia. For dinner, it's a coconut fish soup, rice noodles, chicken curry, grilled tuna with avocado butter and a lemon cake. Oh, and heavy rain.
Our third morning at Bosque is clear and bright. We get into a routine of waking up around 5:15 every morning and taking a walk through the gardens and driveway before breakfast. This morning, we see the beautiful Blue Morpho butterflies. They’re large almost as big as my palm and a shimmering metallic blue, which is not pigmentation but caused by the reflection of light off the scales on their wings. We see the usual group of coatis slurping on coconuts, a roadside hawk, a large group of white faced capuchin monkeys as well as spider monkeys swinging through the trees, four toucans hopping between trees, and get a fleeting glimpse of five white collared peccaries before they scramble into the forest. Peccaries are mammals that look a lot like wild pigs. We had hoped to see them on the Titi trail yesterday so are glad to see them today.
After breakfast, we go on the four hour primary forest tour through the Zapatero trail with Philip. Very highly recommended as it's a great way to learn more about the flora and fauna that together make this ecosystem what it is and allows us to truly appreciate our surroundings. Most fascinating are the leaf cutter ants, that operate under some of the most complex social caste structures in the animal world with very specific roles and responsibilities.
Fueled by a lunch of arroz con pollo, we walk down the many steps of the Pacific trail, catching glimpses of the ocean through the trees, to a secluded black sand beach bordered by the lush tropical rainforest and accessible only at low tide - we walk alongside the crashing waves, in and out of rocky tide pools filled with hermit crabs, sea urchins, mussels and on a sandy stretch to get to a spring fed waterfall hidden behind a trail off the beach. We turn around at the trail and make our way back the same way, stopping to take a break at a wooden platform setup with chairs offering a lovely view of the water. It's a chance to catch our breath before we trudge up the many steps.
Back by 3:45, we enjoy a nice shower, a swing on the hammock and catch up with Kim and the other guests at the bar. They have snacks every day at 5:45 and this evening it's cucumber slices with a spicy peanut chicken, hummus with carrots and toasted focaccia. For dinner, it's a coconut fish soup, rice noodles, chicken curry, grilled tuna with avocado butter and a lemon cake. Oh, and heavy rain.
Jul 21st, 2016, 06:55 PM
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<b><u> Day 4:</b></u>
We are finally able to do the morning birding with Carlos on our fourth day. This tour is on the grounds of Bosque along the driveway, through part of the Golfo Dulce trail and through the Tropical Garden and back. We don't see as many birds as we did on the afternoon tour as they're harder to spot in the dense jungle, but it's still a very enjoyable walk and we see about 5 new species. We also run into a pack of about 15 white collared peccaries and later see them in smaller groups of 3-5. The other highlights are seeing the tent making bats hiding out under the palm fronds, a spider monkey making a bridge with her tail/hind legs and hands between two trees for her baby to walk safely across as well as a group of capuchins closer to eye level in the Tropical Garden including a mom and week old baby. We get some really great pictures with them.
After breakfast, we relax on our deck surrounded by what seems to be an explosion of brightly colored butterflies fluttering all around, a male Basilisk iguana with its distinctive crest on its head and back sunning on a tree stump, agoutis snacking next to us, and great frigate birds, pelicans and vultures flying across. Fun fact: the Basilisk iguana is also called the Jesus Christ lizard for its remarkable ability to run on water.
Our post lunch activity today is waterfall rappelling with Carlos. Something that I hadn't planned on doing but am conned/convinced to try it by the others who claim it was their most fun adventure activity. All right then, what's a birthday trip if I don't try something new. Or so I tell myself. We have another couple for company and set off on the back of a pickup truck driving 20 minutes to a farm. The sloth that we saw 2 days ago is still up on the same tree. Ajit jokes that he would love to see two sloths fighting - picturing it in our heads makes us all laugh! At the farm, we get on our horses (Ajit has Chester and I have Chupipe) and accompanied by a couple of colts under the watchful eyes of their mothers, ride for about 25 minutes up a hill through the forest along slushy trails with amazing views of the Pacific coast as we get to the top. My track record with beasts of burden - whether horses, donkeys, mules or camels - hasn't been very good but Chupipe is wonderful and gentle. We see another sloth up close along the way as well.
To get to the waterfall, we have to leave our horses behind and hike for another 10 minutes. The waterfall is 100' high and after we gear up and get our instructions from Carlos who goes down first, it's our turn to rappel down. The first few steps going backwards down the slippery rocks trying to find my footing is very scary. And I don't quite have the technique right so end up swinging and hitting my knees/ankles against the rocks a few times. I finally manage to enjoy the experience once I'm more than halfway down. Watching Ajit come down easily, I'm a little pissed with myself. We laugh at my pictures and videos, nurse my bruised bones and ego, and stand under the refreshing waterfall one last time before heading back. We see our first Central American squirrel monkeys on the trail before we get back on the horses. They're so tiny and adorable and we're thrilled to finally see this endangered species.
We're back at the lodge by 4:30 and grab some of their delicious chocolate banana cake before following a couple of crested caracara and a hawk through the grounds. After a shower, we get a glass of wine and beer from the bar and head up to the library for an interesting talk by Osa Conversation, a nonprofit organization headquartered in DC that is focused on preserving the biodiversity of the Osa. Tonight's talk is about the cats of the Osa, their prey and what's being done to monitor, track and protect their populations. For snacks, they have taro chips and tostadas with refried black beans and salsa. Yum. Dinner is pozole, Caribbean chicken, red snapper, yuca, sweet plantains and cake. So ends another lovely day in this paradise.
We are finally able to do the morning birding with Carlos on our fourth day. This tour is on the grounds of Bosque along the driveway, through part of the Golfo Dulce trail and through the Tropical Garden and back. We don't see as many birds as we did on the afternoon tour as they're harder to spot in the dense jungle, but it's still a very enjoyable walk and we see about 5 new species. We also run into a pack of about 15 white collared peccaries and later see them in smaller groups of 3-5. The other highlights are seeing the tent making bats hiding out under the palm fronds, a spider monkey making a bridge with her tail/hind legs and hands between two trees for her baby to walk safely across as well as a group of capuchins closer to eye level in the Tropical Garden including a mom and week old baby. We get some really great pictures with them.
After breakfast, we relax on our deck surrounded by what seems to be an explosion of brightly colored butterflies fluttering all around, a male Basilisk iguana with its distinctive crest on its head and back sunning on a tree stump, agoutis snacking next to us, and great frigate birds, pelicans and vultures flying across. Fun fact: the Basilisk iguana is also called the Jesus Christ lizard for its remarkable ability to run on water.
Our post lunch activity today is waterfall rappelling with Carlos. Something that I hadn't planned on doing but am conned/convinced to try it by the others who claim it was their most fun adventure activity. All right then, what's a birthday trip if I don't try something new. Or so I tell myself. We have another couple for company and set off on the back of a pickup truck driving 20 minutes to a farm. The sloth that we saw 2 days ago is still up on the same tree. Ajit jokes that he would love to see two sloths fighting - picturing it in our heads makes us all laugh! At the farm, we get on our horses (Ajit has Chester and I have Chupipe) and accompanied by a couple of colts under the watchful eyes of their mothers, ride for about 25 minutes up a hill through the forest along slushy trails with amazing views of the Pacific coast as we get to the top. My track record with beasts of burden - whether horses, donkeys, mules or camels - hasn't been very good but Chupipe is wonderful and gentle. We see another sloth up close along the way as well.
To get to the waterfall, we have to leave our horses behind and hike for another 10 minutes. The waterfall is 100' high and after we gear up and get our instructions from Carlos who goes down first, it's our turn to rappel down. The first few steps going backwards down the slippery rocks trying to find my footing is very scary. And I don't quite have the technique right so end up swinging and hitting my knees/ankles against the rocks a few times. I finally manage to enjoy the experience once I'm more than halfway down. Watching Ajit come down easily, I'm a little pissed with myself. We laugh at my pictures and videos, nurse my bruised bones and ego, and stand under the refreshing waterfall one last time before heading back. We see our first Central American squirrel monkeys on the trail before we get back on the horses. They're so tiny and adorable and we're thrilled to finally see this endangered species.
We're back at the lodge by 4:30 and grab some of their delicious chocolate banana cake before following a couple of crested caracara and a hawk through the grounds. After a shower, we get a glass of wine and beer from the bar and head up to the library for an interesting talk by Osa Conversation, a nonprofit organization headquartered in DC that is focused on preserving the biodiversity of the Osa. Tonight's talk is about the cats of the Osa, their prey and what's being done to monitor, track and protect their populations. For snacks, they have taro chips and tostadas with refried black beans and salsa. Yum. Dinner is pozole, Caribbean chicken, red snapper, yuca, sweet plantains and cake. So ends another lovely day in this paradise.
Jul 26th, 2016, 01:25 PM
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<b><u> Day 5: </b></u>
I wake up bright and early on Thursday, my 40th birthday. Our walk this morning is so much fun – tons of white faced capuchins on the almond and palm trees up to their usual shenanigans, while a large group of spider monkeys swing through their playground causing a ruckus and then proceed to, one by one, swing from a tree on one side of the driveway to the other, maybe fifteen feet across. It’s fascinating to see them get up to the furthermost branch, swing it back and forth to get momentum and finally when ready, make that leap of faith and hope for the best. We cheer each monkey on as they jump and capture their wildly flailing silhouettes on camera. Some just barely manage to journey across, none fall flat on the ground. I wonder if they ever miss. We also see the mating ritual of a pair of great currasows – in fact two males vying of the attention of one female. One of the males flies up on a tree and calls out to the female, ultimately winning her over and walking off with her, while the other looks on. As we walk back, one of the guests alerts us to the scarlet macaws in the almond tree two doors down from us. They’re high up in the foliage eating fruit, but this is closer than we’re ever seen them on this trip. They’re usually flying up high or in front or really high up in the canopy. Oh those colors - they’re such beautiful birds. From here, we walk across the suspension bridge and see more spider monkeys, before we make it back for breakfast. All in all, a very entertaining and satisfying start to the day.
I wake up bright and early on Thursday, my 40th birthday. Our walk this morning is so much fun – tons of white faced capuchins on the almond and palm trees up to their usual shenanigans, while a large group of spider monkeys swing through their playground causing a ruckus and then proceed to, one by one, swing from a tree on one side of the driveway to the other, maybe fifteen feet across. It’s fascinating to see them get up to the furthermost branch, swing it back and forth to get momentum and finally when ready, make that leap of faith and hope for the best. We cheer each monkey on as they jump and capture their wildly flailing silhouettes on camera. Some just barely manage to journey across, none fall flat on the ground. I wonder if they ever miss. We also see the mating ritual of a pair of great currasows – in fact two males vying of the attention of one female. One of the males flies up on a tree and calls out to the female, ultimately winning her over and walking off with her, while the other looks on. As we walk back, one of the guests alerts us to the scarlet macaws in the almond tree two doors down from us. They’re high up in the foliage eating fruit, but this is closer than we’re ever seen them on this trip. They’re usually flying up high or in front or really high up in the canopy. Oh those colors - they’re such beautiful birds. From here, we walk across the suspension bridge and see more spider monkeys, before we make it back for breakfast. All in all, a very entertaining and satisfying start to the day.
Jul 26th, 2016, 01:34 PM
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Our post breakfast plan is to hike the Creek, Manakin and Trogon trails over to the Golfo Dulce trail all the way down to the beaches of the gulf. We head out at 9 and ask the staff to send over a car to pick us up at the other end of the beach access road at 12, figuring three hours would be plenty of time to walk down and spend some time on the beach. Well, we underestimated how distracted we would get on the way. Distracted by what, you say? Poison dart frogs – plenty of those tiny black and bright green buggers. It is while I’m following one of these frogs as it jumps off the trail that I spot a long jet black creature with a bushy tail in the underbrush holding what appears to be a large orange fruit in its mouth. We stare at each other for a few seconds and as I try to take a picture as quietly as possible, it scrambles away. I whisper loudly to Ajit so he is able to see the animal before it disappears. We learn later (when we’re back at the lodge) that it is a Tayra. Quite a thrill! The last bit of the hike involves a sleep climb down and rocky parts, ending with the trail opening up into a gorgeous setting with blooming morning glory vines hanging down from the trees leading to Matapalo beach. The brown sand beach is very picturesque and there’s no one else besides us and a few kids trying to bodyboard. We barely sit under the shade of the palms for 10 minutes when we realize it’s already 11 so have to hurry up and make our way to the other end of the road. Shoot, we wish we’d given ourselves more time. We skip the second beach Backwash Bay since it’s a swimming beach at high tide and we’re not swimming today and continue walking towards Pan Dulce beach. On the way, we spot an owl, lots of red dragonflies and just as we approach the beach, a group of adorable squirrel monkeys eating and playing around not too high up on the tree. Such a thrill – we end up seeing all four species of monkeys in Costa Rica on this trip. We watch and photograph them for a good 15 minutes and end up having to power walk to the beach so we’re not late. Pan Dulce is not as pretty as Matapalo in our opinion, so we just spend a few minutes here before reaching the end of the road...where there is no pickup in sight.
Jul 26th, 2016, 01:35 PM
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Thinking we may be at the wrong place, we walk up and down, ask around about another white gate (our landmark), and finally just relax and wait for the car which arrives 15 minutes later. Waiting has its merits though as we get to see another sloth up on the road near us.
Our post lunch activity consists of napping outdoors which we manage to do for a short while before waking up to toucan song and a spider monkey and juvenile swinging down from vines. We also see a red crowned woodpecker up on the palm, a golden-naped tanager and a brilliant red Cherrie’s tanager up close by the deck that flies away before I can take a photograph. Sigh. It’s a beauty. The red crowned woodpecker is another favorite. In the early evening, we walk back down the driveway to witness a replay of the spider monkey leap fest, it never gets old. It begins to drizzle so we sit at the bar for a while with coffee and some delectable chocolate banana cake (we may have had more than some ) and just be. Taking a warm shower outdoors in the rain is something else I discover I love to do in the tropics. What a treat! But, not when it pours, which is does at 6, thankfully after we’re done. And boy, it’s a monsoon. It’s pizza night at the bar and they’ve got wood fired thin crust sausage and veggie pizza. Washed down with what becomes my favorite drink of this vacation – a chile guaro, made with Cacique guaro (a sugarcane based liquor), juice of the mandarina lime, and a good dash of tabasco! It’s a fun evening with most all the guests huddled together in the bar exchanging travel and life stories. Thanks to Eileen, tending bar tonight, for introducing me to this drink and for having a shot with me to celebrate my birthday. Dinner is Italian, and while not my favorite meal of our stay, it’s still a great spread – caponata, lasagna, grilled veggies, spaghetti carbonara, grilled chicken and tiramisu. As dinner winds down, the lights are dimmed, and the staff bring out a lovely birthday cake. It’s chocolate with a light as air egg white and lemon mint icing decorated with flowers. Such a special night. We end it with a couple more chile guaros, obviously. Thanks to Merlyn, Rosy, Eileen, Gian Carlos, Geiner and Paola at Bosque – they were warm, wonderful, the best. It will be hard to say goodbye in a couple of days.
Our post lunch activity consists of napping outdoors which we manage to do for a short while before waking up to toucan song and a spider monkey and juvenile swinging down from vines. We also see a red crowned woodpecker up on the palm, a golden-naped tanager and a brilliant red Cherrie’s tanager up close by the deck that flies away before I can take a photograph. Sigh. It’s a beauty. The red crowned woodpecker is another favorite. In the early evening, we walk back down the driveway to witness a replay of the spider monkey leap fest, it never gets old. It begins to drizzle so we sit at the bar for a while with coffee and some delectable chocolate banana cake (we may have had more than some ) and just be. Taking a warm shower outdoors in the rain is something else I discover I love to do in the tropics. What a treat! But, not when it pours, which is does at 6, thankfully after we’re done. And boy, it’s a monsoon. It’s pizza night at the bar and they’ve got wood fired thin crust sausage and veggie pizza. Washed down with what becomes my favorite drink of this vacation – a chile guaro, made with Cacique guaro (a sugarcane based liquor), juice of the mandarina lime, and a good dash of tabasco! It’s a fun evening with most all the guests huddled together in the bar exchanging travel and life stories. Thanks to Eileen, tending bar tonight, for introducing me to this drink and for having a shot with me to celebrate my birthday. Dinner is Italian, and while not my favorite meal of our stay, it’s still a great spread – caponata, lasagna, grilled veggies, spaghetti carbonara, grilled chicken and tiramisu. As dinner winds down, the lights are dimmed, and the staff bring out a lovely birthday cake. It’s chocolate with a light as air egg white and lemon mint icing decorated with flowers. Such a special night. We end it with a couple more chile guaros, obviously. Thanks to Merlyn, Rosy, Eileen, Gian Carlos, Geiner and Paola at Bosque – they were warm, wonderful, the best. It will be hard to say goodbye in a couple of days.
Aug 1st, 2016, 10:28 AM
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<b><u> Days 6 & 7: </b></u>
This is the morning where our cabina fully lives up to its name! Beginning with several scarlet macaws on the trees behind the bar in the morning – they hang around for a while so we get to enjoy them through our binoculars and take pictures. The next thrill comes after lunch when we see three pairs of macaws fly by right in front of the cabina and Ajit is finally able to capture their graceful flight on camera. As they fly by, I say to Ajit that I really wish they would stop by the almond tree next door…seeing how this is our last full day in Bosque. And what do you know, they do! Such a joy to get up close and personal with the two macaws perched on the tree eating almonds right above us. We have to peel ourselves away at 1:30 for our final activity of the trip – horseback riding.
We hadn’t really planned on doing this but after our great experience with the horses earlier and hearing how wonderful it was to ride them on the beach, we decide to sign up. It’s about a 20 minute drive to Miguel’s house. Miguel Sánchez, an indigenous man from the Osa with weathered skin and callused feet from a life lived outdoors, raises 15 horses on land his family has owned for generations. He doesn’t speak any English except for a handful of words. We sign in and follow him as he leads us to our mounts. He asks if we have any experience with horses and we both say “Nada” in unison and just to make doubly sure we’re understood, we both sign it as well. And off we go, us city folk strapped to our saddles, while Miguel rides barefoot without one. He’s as authentic a rancher/cowboy as you will ever meet. Along for the trip is Kira, Miguel’s dog. She wanders off every now and then marking her own trail and rejoins us when she is ready. We ride through a stream and then into the Rio Pico with our feet dipping in the water and cross into dense rain forest with Miguel using his long machete (that he straps to his hip) to cut through hanging vines and overgrown jungle. It starts drizzling as we pass through almond trees with a couple of macaws to greet us and emerge onto a desolate beach. At this point, we expect the horses to take off galloping down the beach as we have been told they do, but instead, our horses gently trot on the sand alongside the Pacific with huge waves pounding against the rocks. It’s marvelous, this beach, Playa Piro. There is not a soul to be seen besides us and our horses leave the first footprints on the sand today, to be washed away at the next high tide. Like we were never there. Except this afternoon will be etched in our minds forever. We ride in the rain through the breathtaking landscape with coconut palms, marsh and streams abutting the beach. Miguel stops to point out birds and a sea turtle egg. When we get to the other end of the beach, we get off our horses, tie them up, and climb up the rocks to the tidal pools. We watch as powerful waves lash against the rocks and burst through blowholes several feet up in the air with a thundering roar – it’s mesmerizing and fun getting drenched. Kira enjoys getting wet and rolling in the sand. As the rain stops and sun comes out, we walk back to our horses. Miguel uses his machete to cut open a coconut and we enjoy the meat inside. Kira does too. This would have been the perfect time for a tender coconut with its sweet refreshing water, but alas, it is not to be. It’s with a deep sigh that we leave the beach behind and ride back the same way. We bid adieu to Miguel and Kira and are back at Bosque by 4:30 and watch the sun set from our deck. Dinner tonight is carrot soup, chicken in a passion fruit sauce, pork tenderloin in a blackberry tamarind sauce, and brownies with ice cream. Our last night at Bosque is capped off with chile guaro shots and a tico sour.
On our final morning in Bosque, we observe the usual playful capuchins and cheer on a juvenile spider monkey learning to jump between trees as his mom watches. At one point, he swings tentatively on a branch and anxiously plots his flight course but finally decides to screw it, scamper down to the ground and climb up the next tree. We contemplate getting a ride to the beach for an hour this morning, but it starts raining after breakfast. So, we nix the beach plan and enjoy our deck + hammock and the grounds one last time. We see another Cherrie’s tanager, a couple of monkeys hugging themselves asleep on a tree, more toucans and a bare-throated tiger heron.
At 11, we say goodbye to the staff and head to the airport, stopping a couple of times to photograph an Amazon Kingfisher and a large group of macaws on a tree. Our flight back to San Jose is delayed as the pilots take a longer route because of the weather and circle for a while before we can land. It’s too early to check in for our midnight flight, so we take a taxi to downtown Alajuela hoping to while away the evening in Monteleone, a bar recommended at Villa San Ignacio. Unfortunately, Monteleone is not yet open, so we spend an hour with coffee and papas rellenas at the small Columbian eatery next door and the next hour at the square watching locals salsa dancing. At 5:30, we head over to Monteleone for beers, guacamole and steak and music videos from the 80s playing on TV, leaving for the airport at 9. And so ends our week long trip to Costa Rica – both wonderful and relaxing, just what we needed.
This is the morning where our cabina fully lives up to its name! Beginning with several scarlet macaws on the trees behind the bar in the morning – they hang around for a while so we get to enjoy them through our binoculars and take pictures. The next thrill comes after lunch when we see three pairs of macaws fly by right in front of the cabina and Ajit is finally able to capture their graceful flight on camera. As they fly by, I say to Ajit that I really wish they would stop by the almond tree next door…seeing how this is our last full day in Bosque. And what do you know, they do! Such a joy to get up close and personal with the two macaws perched on the tree eating almonds right above us. We have to peel ourselves away at 1:30 for our final activity of the trip – horseback riding.
We hadn’t really planned on doing this but after our great experience with the horses earlier and hearing how wonderful it was to ride them on the beach, we decide to sign up. It’s about a 20 minute drive to Miguel’s house. Miguel Sánchez, an indigenous man from the Osa with weathered skin and callused feet from a life lived outdoors, raises 15 horses on land his family has owned for generations. He doesn’t speak any English except for a handful of words. We sign in and follow him as he leads us to our mounts. He asks if we have any experience with horses and we both say “Nada” in unison and just to make doubly sure we’re understood, we both sign it as well. And off we go, us city folk strapped to our saddles, while Miguel rides barefoot without one. He’s as authentic a rancher/cowboy as you will ever meet. Along for the trip is Kira, Miguel’s dog. She wanders off every now and then marking her own trail and rejoins us when she is ready. We ride through a stream and then into the Rio Pico with our feet dipping in the water and cross into dense rain forest with Miguel using his long machete (that he straps to his hip) to cut through hanging vines and overgrown jungle. It starts drizzling as we pass through almond trees with a couple of macaws to greet us and emerge onto a desolate beach. At this point, we expect the horses to take off galloping down the beach as we have been told they do, but instead, our horses gently trot on the sand alongside the Pacific with huge waves pounding against the rocks. It’s marvelous, this beach, Playa Piro. There is not a soul to be seen besides us and our horses leave the first footprints on the sand today, to be washed away at the next high tide. Like we were never there. Except this afternoon will be etched in our minds forever. We ride in the rain through the breathtaking landscape with coconut palms, marsh and streams abutting the beach. Miguel stops to point out birds and a sea turtle egg. When we get to the other end of the beach, we get off our horses, tie them up, and climb up the rocks to the tidal pools. We watch as powerful waves lash against the rocks and burst through blowholes several feet up in the air with a thundering roar – it’s mesmerizing and fun getting drenched. Kira enjoys getting wet and rolling in the sand. As the rain stops and sun comes out, we walk back to our horses. Miguel uses his machete to cut open a coconut and we enjoy the meat inside. Kira does too. This would have been the perfect time for a tender coconut with its sweet refreshing water, but alas, it is not to be. It’s with a deep sigh that we leave the beach behind and ride back the same way. We bid adieu to Miguel and Kira and are back at Bosque by 4:30 and watch the sun set from our deck. Dinner tonight is carrot soup, chicken in a passion fruit sauce, pork tenderloin in a blackberry tamarind sauce, and brownies with ice cream. Our last night at Bosque is capped off with chile guaro shots and a tico sour.
On our final morning in Bosque, we observe the usual playful capuchins and cheer on a juvenile spider monkey learning to jump between trees as his mom watches. At one point, he swings tentatively on a branch and anxiously plots his flight course but finally decides to screw it, scamper down to the ground and climb up the next tree. We contemplate getting a ride to the beach for an hour this morning, but it starts raining after breakfast. So, we nix the beach plan and enjoy our deck + hammock and the grounds one last time. We see another Cherrie’s tanager, a couple of monkeys hugging themselves asleep on a tree, more toucans and a bare-throated tiger heron.
At 11, we say goodbye to the staff and head to the airport, stopping a couple of times to photograph an Amazon Kingfisher and a large group of macaws on a tree. Our flight back to San Jose is delayed as the pilots take a longer route because of the weather and circle for a while before we can land. It’s too early to check in for our midnight flight, so we take a taxi to downtown Alajuela hoping to while away the evening in Monteleone, a bar recommended at Villa San Ignacio. Unfortunately, Monteleone is not yet open, so we spend an hour with coffee and papas rellenas at the small Columbian eatery next door and the next hour at the square watching locals salsa dancing. At 5:30, we head over to Monteleone for beers, guacamole and steak and music videos from the 80s playing on TV, leaving for the airport at 9. And so ends our week long trip to Costa Rica – both wonderful and relaxing, just what we needed.
Dec 17th, 2016, 07:52 AM
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Thanks Stewbear!
We finally got our pictures done and uploaded so here's a link.
https://culturesconnected.smugmug.co...osta-Rica-2016
Enjoy!
We finally got our pictures done and uploaded so here's a link.
https://culturesconnected.smugmug.co...osta-Rica-2016
Enjoy!
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