Melissa5

<b>TRIP REPORT: My 3rd Trip to Costa Rica: February 2015</b>

<b>ITINERARY:</b>
Fly US Airways San Diego to SJO via Phoenix
(1st class using points!)
1 night: Hotel Bougainvillea, Santo Tomas de Santo Domingo de Heredia
My rating: 5/10
www.hb.co.cr

Fly Nature Air from SJO to Puerto Jimenez

4 nights: Bosque del Cabo, on Cabo Matapalo, Osa peninsula
My rating: 9/10
www.bosquedelcabo.com

Fly Nature Air from Puerto Jimenez to SJO

4 nights: Hotel Bougainvillea
My rating: 5/10
www.hb.co.cr

Day-trips:
Poas
La Paz waterfall gardens
Carara national park
Driver/ Guide: Lloyd Martinez
My rating for driver/guide: 10/10

I showered with butterflies and a gorgeous dragonfly, iridescent in the sun, in my private outdoor shower at Bosque del Cabo on the Osa peninsula. Congo cabina has an ocean view from the private outdoor shower, and from the bed! The rainforest was steamy hot in February, in the 90's, and the humidity was so thick you could swim in the sky. Cold showers in the hot rainforest were marvelously memorable, and a multi-sensory experience. (-;

At sunrise the howler monkeys woke us up, and I sat up in bed to admire the ocean view, right from my bed! The ocean is 500 feet below. We walked the trails in the cooler morning to see howlers, cappuchins, and spider monkeys, basalisk, tree snake, toucan, agouti, dart frog, peccaries, agoutis, and birds, and 1 sloth, and butterflies and other beautiful insects. Then we had breakfast, and it was too hot for me to hike between 9:30 and 3:30. What a perfect excuse to laze around on Congo's deck and watch the monkeys and birds, including a pair of scarlet macaws that flew onto a branch right above my head! (My husband chose to take another walk while I was relaxing. He's a relentless biologist!)

The cicadas serenaded me while I sat on my private deck and sipped an icy cold ginger lemonade from the bar. I wrote poetry in my head, because I didn't want to disturb the zen relaxation by getting up to fetch paper & pen. (-; Ahhhhhh paradise.

In the late afternoon, it cooled down enough for another walk. We saw monkeys every day on every walk at Bosque.

Bosque del Cabo is an Eco-lodge at Cabo Matapalo on the Osa peninsula. It's 500 feet above the ocean on a bluff, and is surrounded by primary and secondary rainforest. We have stayed there twice, and have slept in a variety of Deluxe ocean view Cabinas, including Congo, Mariposa, Manglillo, and Aracari.

Happy hour and dinners are very social at Bosque, and we met interesting travelers from Whales, Australia, Canada, Brazil, and elsewhere.

We love the Osa peninsula, and I'd love to explore more of it, and try some of the other great Eco-lodges as well. (Though I'm madly in love with Bosque del Cabo and will definitely return!)

I love being immersed in nature, and yet have my comforts at the same time. That's what makes Bosque a great choice for me.

<b>WEATHER:</b> February and March are the hottest months on the Osa. February was a little too hot for me, but still enjoyable. It was in the 90's with very high humidity. I prefer January, which isn't quite as hot as February. January and February are the dry season on the Osa, but it's a rainforest, so it still rains in the dry season. Since I like to escape the January gloom of San Diego, the sun on the Osa is a gift to me, so I don't mind the heat. Compared to San Diego, the Osa is green year round, even in the dry season.

<b>CENTRAL VALLEY:</b>

<b>Poas & La Paz Waterfall Gardens:</b>

We spent our 1st night and our last 4 nights at Hotel Bougainvillea in Santo Tomas de Santo Domingo de Heredia. Our plan was to book day-tours from this base. In hindsight, I wouldn't do this again. Traffic in the Central Valley has increased, and even with our driver's ability to dodge traffic jams to some degree by taking shortcuts, I still feel the need to escape the traffic of the Central Valley area. Next trip we will escape and spend MORE time at peaceful places like the Osa, and LESS time in the Central Valley.

This was our 3rd stay at Hotel Bougainvillea, but I would choose a hotel closer to the SJO airport next time for the beginning and end of our trip. It can take 45 minutes or more at certain times of day to get from Hotel Bougainvillea to the airport. There were major traffic jams and accidents while returning to this hotel at the end of our 2 day-trips.

I also have 2 disappointments regarding the Hotel Bougainvillea. To make a long story short: (1) they failed to have our departure airport transfer ready, despite the fact that we had just confirmed it in person the day before, when we paid our hotel bill early, in anticipation of our early departure the next morning at 5:00am for our 7:45am flight. (2) They emailed me that they told Expediciones tropicales to reserve our date for the Tortuga island cruise, without checking to make sure the tour was running for our date. (Found out when we were in Costa Rica that the tour doesn't even run on our date!) So we missed out on that tour. Since the Hotel Bougainvillea is offering this day-tour on their web-site, they need to be more organized, or simply don't offer this tour at all.

We loved our private driver/guide, Lloyd, who was booked for us by the Hotel Bougainvillea. He's an avid birder, and although we aren't birders, we enjoyed his enthusiasm and his insights into Costa Rica, his country.

Poas was completely invisible, so we went on to La Paz Waterfall Gardens and some nearby sites with Lloyd. (We did see Poas clearly on a previous trip.) La Paz was touristy and zoo-like, and it rained all day, so we slogged around in raincoats. The buffet was mediocre tourist food, with an annoying music tape playing. I did enjoy the butterflies, hummingbirds, and the jaguar. But after staying at Bosque Del Cabo on the Osa peninsula, La Paz feels like a zoo to me. Perhaps if it hadn't rained all day, I'd have loved this place more.

But the highlights of this day-tour were the sites that our guide showed us in the surrounding area. I loved a spot with a view of the largest waterfall from outside of La Paz, where hummingbirds and other exotic birds flitted around the fruit and flowers. With the waterfall in the background, this spot was like a beautiful fantasy!

We also saw our first Quetzal! The guide knew where to find it on the side of a road during our Poas/La Paz day-trip. It was a male, and we had a great view! It was exciting to see the majestic Quetzal, the sacred bird of the Mayans.

We also saw many birds in a marshy spot, but sorry I can't remember if that was during the Poas/La Paz day-trip, or the Carara day-trip.

<b>CARARA NATIONAL PARK Day-trip:</b>

Since we didn't have the Tortuga island day-trip, I asked Lloyd to take us on another day-trip. He took us to Carara to see birds, and we also stopped to see crocodiles with impressive teeth!

I'm not a birder, so this wasn't my favorite day-trip. It was hot at Carara, and the park is too close to the road for me to feel a sense of escaping into nature. But I don't blame Lloyd, as this was a last-minute booking, and I didn't have time to research it, as I was down on the Osa already when I booked it. So I agreed to birding at Carara without looking into it, as otherwise we'd be stuck at Hotel Bougainvillea with nothing to do and no car, since our day-trip to Tortuga island didn't work out. I'm grateful to Lloyd for rescuing us, and I'd happily hire him again.

In fact, I have such a high opinion of Lloyd Martinez that I might email him and use his trip-planning services for our next trip.

I really love the Osa, and it feels like one of the unspoiled areas of Costa Rica. I'd happily return to Bosque Del Cabo, or I might like to try a new place on the Osa, for the sheer joy of discovery. We haven't stayed at Drake Bay yet... The entire Osa peninsula looks so green and wild and inviting from the windows of our Nature Air flight! Ah, Pura Vida...

MichelleY

Thanks for the great report!

RAC

Great reports with useful pieces of information. Thanks.

volcanogirl

Sounds like a mixed bag, but glad you enjoyed BdC and sorry you missed out on Tortuga Island. Now you have an excuse to go back!
I bet your husband was in heaven - CR must be a dream come true for a biologist! Which cabin at BdC has been your favorite? Aracari was a new one for me - I don't hear much about that one.

SambaChula

I simply love your title "Showers with Butterflies" ! Made me smile.

Melissa5

SambaChula: Oh thanks, and the title makes me smile as well...happy memories! It doesn't get any more Pura Vida than showers with butterflies!

MichelleY: Thanks for reading and commenting.

RAC: Thank you, and I think I saw a recent TR from you...I want to give that one a good read, now that I'm finished with my TR.

volcanogirl: You wanted to know more about the Aracari cabina? Aracari is built on top of the Vista Mar cabina. Sound easily travels between the 2 cabinas, but fortunately, everyone goes to sleep early at Bosque, so it really wasn't a problem. Aracari has 2 bedrooms and can hold 4 people, but we only had 2 people. The bathroom is indoors, so it's not as romantic as the outdoor showers in the other deluxe cabinas. The large private deck has an ocen view, and a lovely romantic sunset view. Aracari is lovely, and it's pretty much all screened in, so it would be well-suited for people who are nervous about staying in a rainforest. The master bedroom has a king bed, and the other bedroom has 2 twins. Both bedrooms have powerful and quiet ceiling fans. As I recall, in the morning the private deck was a bit too hot and sunny, but by the afternoon it starts getting some shade, and is really nice by evening & sunset. Hope this helps! I do think that a large group of family or friends might really enjoy renting both Aracari AND Vista Mar, because then they would have the entire building, both top and bottom floors! We enjoyed Aracari for 2 nights, but preferred Congo, which we had for the last 2 nights. I've stayed in Mariposa, Manglillo, Aracari, and Congo. My favs in this order are:
#1 Congo
#2 Mariposa
#3 Manglillo
#4 Aracari

Aracari is a little cooler than Congo, but we still preferred Congo...although Aracari is very nice as well. You know how it goes at Bosque...your heart just embraces one of the cabinas, and it becomes your fav!

Comparing Mariposa to Congo: Mariposa is cooler, with fantastic opportunities to see monkeys from your private deck, including mama monkeys carrying their babies...and Mariposa is the most private, as nobody will walk by your cabina, you're on the end. But Mariposa's ocean view is partially obscured by trees.
But Congo has an ocean view from the bed, and opportunites to see so many birds flying by, while you are sitting on your private deck...a pair of scarlet macaws flew straight towards me and landed on the tree over my head! Congo isn't quiet as private as Mariposa, as people staying at Mariposa have to walk past congo, and also, a staff member often seemed to be picking blossoms for the drinks at the bar, right near Congo cabina. But you quickly figure out what you need to keep closed or open up for privacy in Congo cabina. Also, since Congo has a more open ocean view...that means it's also hotter in the day-time, although I found that those cold showers in February made me happy and comfortable! Congo cools down at night, with the ocean breezes, but we did have to use the tiny fan by the head of the bed to keep cool at night... I prefer not to need the fan, because it partially masks the sounds of the ocean and nature, but it's only a small fan.

Melissa5

typo above...I meant to say that "Congo isn't quite as private as Mariposa". That's "quite", NOT "quiet".

volcanogirl

Thanks, Melissa - those are great descriptions. We've only stayed in Tucan, but of course we loved it. Was Mariposa the only one you stayed in that had a bathtub?

Melissa5

volcanogirl: Yes, Mariposa was the only cabina with a bathtub that I stayed in. However when I stayed in Mariposa I didn't use the bathtub. Don't laugh, but I kept having visions of a snake crawling up through the drain! So I stuck with showers. Mariposa was my first experience with staying in a cabina that feels relatively open to the rainforest. But now of course that's one of the things I love about Bosque del Cabo!

volcanogirl

M, that's funny! That never occurred to me! I loved the monkeys swinging overheard though. When we were there, two guys were staying in Mariposa, and they used the tub to keep their beer cold.

emmajm

Thanks for the report. Bosque del Cabo is on my list of I want to go back places, along with Baja Discovery whale camp.