Trip Report - Tortuguero, Osa, Arenal

Old Oct 15th, 2004, 08:54 PM
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Trip Report - Tortuguero, Osa, Arenal

I received a lot of help from here, so I thought I'd share our trip with others to give a little back to the forum. We took a wonderful trip to Costa Rica from August 23 - September 4, 2004. Here are the basics, then I'll go into more detail. If you have any questions please let me know.

I put some pictures here if you are interested:

http://www.kidville.com/Costa-Rica/


1 night in San Jose, at the Hotel Brittania
Bottom line...very nice old hotel, but a little noisy from the road outside.

4 nights in Tortuguero (northern Caribbean coast), at the Mawamba Lodge
Bottom line...we loved it. Beautiful scenery, boat excursions, and nesting sea turtles!

4 nights near Puerto Jimenez (Osa Peninsula, Southern Pacific coast), at Bosque del Cabo
Bottom line...again, loved it. Amazing wildlife, great food, very nice people.

2 nights in Arenal, at the Arenal Lodge
Bottom line...Amazing rumbling from the volcano, Tabacon hot springs; recommend it, but not quite as memorable as the previous 2 places we stayed

1 night in San Jose, again at Hotel Brittania


We were 2 thirty-somethings on our 3rd anniversary vacation. I planned the vacation, but found a travel agent on the internet who specialized in CR to book everything, just to smooth out the edges or give advice on things I hadn't considered.

We purchased backpacks that were "carry-on" legal, and that has a daypack that unzipped from the main pack. We knew we were taking domestic flights in CR, so we limited ourselves to 25 lbs per person. Actually, I had about 23 pounds and my wife had about 27 pounds, but we figured that if there was a problem we'd just move some of her stuff into my pack. We had about 3 lbs of stuff in the smaller daypack. Turns out the airlines weighed the main backpack, but didn't really seem to care about our smaller packs.

We each got hats, which, I probably don't need to say, were essential. I think you could have cooked eggs on my balding head without a hat. I had a pair of hiking boots, and a "teva-like" rugged sandal. We also purchased several pairs of the zip-off "convertible" pants, some "breathable and water-wicking" tee shirts (like Coolmax), as well as water-wicking underwear and socks. I think we thought we might melt like the Wicked Witch of the West in the CR humidity. It turns out it wasn't that bad, but at least the pile of new clothes we had weighed less than our normal clothes would have...

We only took a few things besides the basics. I learned from the forum here about a product called "cat crap," and I'm glad I had it. I wear glasses, and this product is an anti-fog agent. When it started to wear off, my glasses did fog up down there. I don't think the product actually contains the ingredient listed in its name. I also purchased a silica thing and put it with my camera in a large ziplock bag. That seemed to help the camera dry quicker after long hot hikes. I also purchased a book called "A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" by Stiles and Skutch which was probably the heaviest thing in my pack, but nice to have. It turned out that the lodges where we stayed generally had a copy of the book for folks to read. We also brought many extra ziplock bags, as many here have recommended. They were good to keep my book dry, protect clothes from muddy shoes, etc.

We took an America West flight from San Francisco, CA to San Jose, CR that stopped in Phoenix. The advantage of that particular flight was the second leg was a continuation of the first, so we knew that we wouldn't miss the connecting flight. A big concern of mine was the problems that might be caused if we missed the flight out of Phoenix, since America West only flies to CR once per day. Even though the flight continued, they did make us get off of the plane in Phoenix. And, of course, on the way back, we actually had to get our luggage in Phoenix, go through customs, and check it back onto the same plane.

In San Jose, someone from Costa Rica Coach was waiting for us at the airport, and took us to Hotel Brittania. It was a nice hotel, but not particularly memorable. Our room was in the front of the hotel, and a little noisy. The gentleman who took our bags was also, apparently, the security guard, as he was clearly packing heat. I felt my bags would be safe Hotel Brittania was about a block from a another more expensive looking hotel that had live music and excellent drinks. Might as well have a nightcap after a long flight. After a few drinks, the noise didn't bother us at all.

The next morning the bus from the Mawamba Lodge picked us up about 15 minutes early. It was a very nice 2-hour or so ride to Matina, where we jumped on a boat for the trip to Tortuguero. Our guide that picked us up on the bus, we learned, would be our guide throughout our stay at the Mawamba lodge. Tortuguero doesn't have any roads leading to it, so the only ways in or out are by boat or by plane. We spent four nights at the lodge, which even the staff there thought might be too much. "You're staying for 4 nights? What are you going to do for that long?" was the first thing out of our guide's mouth. We are glad we spent that amount of time. Each day, you have 3 excursions that are included with your room. We enjoyed going on these trips multiple times, because the wildlife was different each time. One day it was raining, and we hardly saw anything, but when it was sunny, many animals and birds were visible. Also, the extra days gave us more time to enjoy the grounds of the Lodge and the swimming pool. When everyone leaves to go on the tour, you have the place to yourself if you stay behind. The food at the lodge was good, but not gourmet. It was buffet-style. They even cooked a special meal just for us two on the third night, so we wouldn't get the first night's menu. The rooms, according to my wife, were like being at a summer camp, but a very nice summer camp with private bathrooms. It was certainly not luxury, but just fine for us. We went on the sea turtle nesting tour twice, and both times saw the large beasts dropping their little "golf balls of life" into the deep holes they dig in the sand. Actually, the eggs looked more like ping pong balls. Tortuguero itself was a small village with several gift shops and a couple of grocery stores. The bar at the lodge has beer for US$2.00 and fancy drinks for $3.00. Payment for the nesting tours and tips and such had to be paid in cash. We found ourselves short of cash, and Tortuguero has no ATM. One gift shop will give exchange cash for an ATM charge, but charges a 20% surcharge. The lodge will not break large bills into smaller ones--we found that to be common while in CR. It was very hard to come up with "tip money," and wish we had brought fewer $20 bills and more small bills.

We flew from Tortuguero to San Jose on Nature Air, which was uneventful. I worried a little bit, having never flown those small planes, but there was nothing to worry about. We had a short layover in SJ, and flew another Nature Air flight to the Osa Peninsula. We were picked up from the airport in Puerto Jimenez and taken to Bosque del Cabo, where we spent 4 nights. There is so much on these forums already about Bosque del Cabo, and I have very little new to add. As others have said, it's very beautiful and teeming with wildlife. We stayed in a deluxe cabina called La Mariposa, and loved it. We highly recommend that cabina, as it was bordered on two sides by the rainforest and one side by a cliff down to the Pacific. The cabins have hot water and electricity. The food was delicious. There is a great waterfall just off of the beach down the Pacific trail. There is a nice small waterfall and swimming hole about 5 or 10 minutes from the restaurant for a less strenuous hike. Jutta, a masseuse from Puerto Jimenez, will come to your cabina and give an excellent massage. I had one massage, and my wife had two while she was there. The rates aren't bad either, at least compared to San Francisco area spas. The only thing that disappointed my wife was the "zip line" at Bosque del Cabo, which is very small compared to those in other places, including Arenal. The staff here was wonderful. We noticed that all of the other guests here during our stay were from the United States, whereas very few guests at the Mawamba Lodge were from the US. Most in Tortuguero were from Europe and South America.

We flew Sansa Air back to San Jose. This went smooth as well, although there was a delay as the pilots took off without any passengers because they were getting a warning light of some sort. The light went off, so they landed again and loaded up the plane. From the airport in SJ, we took a taxi to the Hotel Corobici and waited for Interbus to pick us up to take us to Arenal. I'm not sure why we had to go to the Hotel Corobici, but it was recommended by our travel agent. Interbus picked us up about 20 minutes early and took us and one other couple to Arenal. We booked the "matrimonial suite" at the Arenal Lodge for two nights, as that room had a tub with jets, a mini-kitchen, and it wasn't that much more money than the Jr. Suites. Both the Jr. Suites and the matrimonial suite have windows facing the volcano. Our room was very big and quite nice. At night there was a scuttling sound in the wall that sounded like mice or something. Not in the room, but in the walls. Even after seeing spiders the size of my face in Tortuguero and the Osa, mice in the walls is still a little creepy. The food at the Arenal Lodge was delicious, but not included as it was at the previous two places we stayed. We spent several hours at Tabacon hot springs, and it's worth a trip. There is a preserve on the Arenal Lodge property, with a butterfly garden and a few animals in fences. Butterflies in a building and peccaries in a fenced area don't have the same appeal as the animals in the wild, as in Tortuguero or the Osa. The grounds of the Lodge are beautiful. I went on the volcano tour, were we were taken to the most recent lava flow. It was interesting, but not a "must do." We took another Interbus trip back to the Hotel Brittania, and returned to the U.S. the next morning. We found the prices of Cafe Britt coffee and chocolates to be better at the airport than many gift shops in San Jose.

Again, if you have any questions, I will try to answer them, and here are some pictures here if you are interested:

http://www.kidville.com/Costa-Rica/
Rick_B is offline  
Old Oct 16th, 2004, 06:13 AM
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Hi Rick. I found your report very interesting, as we went to the same destinations you did, but stayed at different lodgings {interesting to compare}. We stayed in Tortuguero for two nights, and can totally understand wanting to stay longer! We were slightly too early to see the turtles {sigh!}. We also did carry-on. You gave some excellent tips. I agree - next time, lots of smaller bills for tip money!
Molly2 is offline  
Old Oct 17th, 2004, 02:42 AM
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Hi Rick B, Nice trip report. Can you give the name of the on line travel agent that specializes in CR? Thanks. Glad you had a great trip!
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Old Oct 17th, 2004, 08:17 AM
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Hi Tbelgian,

I used Pat Hewitt at Costa Rica Travel Exchange: http://www.lovecostarica.com/intro.html
Rick_B is offline  
Old Oct 18th, 2004, 05:58 AM
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Great report and excellent pictures! You're brave, I would have been terrified to get on the plane even if the warning light did go out! LOL!
Thanks for sharing!
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Old Oct 18th, 2004, 01:25 PM
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Those are fabulous photos! Now I feel like my own trip there was a waste for now having seen a quarter of the wildlife you saw! (Of course, those that remember some of my postings will know that if I ever caught sight of anything remotely resembling a tarantula on anything remotely near my body or the clothes that go on it, I'd have run, screaming bloody murder, all the way back to Canada.)

Totally awesome pics.
MonaManuel is offline  
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