Arrived at San Jose Sat, Aug. 5. Immigration/Customs took about an hour. Stayed at the Holiday Inn in downtown San Jose. Went shopping along Central Ave and in the Central Market. Felt safe, although we were warned by the hotel to beware of pickpockets. Prices were extremely cheap. Ate dinner at a soda…two cosadas for 2200 colones. The meal consisted of rice and beans, fried plantains, a beet/potato salad, stewed veggies, a piece of boiled chicken, and a pina natural. The waitress took pity on me when she saw me whip out my Lonely Planet Costa Rican phrasebook (excellent book, by the way).

Tip: Got a $10 ICE phonecard at the Chinese rest. next door to the Holiday Inn.

Next day took a taxi to Pavas to catch a flight on Nature Air to Puerto Jimenez. Nature Air restrictions: 30 pounds for the checked bag, and 10 pounds for the carry on. Our checked bags were 20 lbs (and were pretty packed). They did not weigh the carry on separately, but had us hold it and step on the scale to calculate a total weight. Our carry-on’s were carefully searched before we boarded (even opened our prescription med bottles).

Note: As thorough as this handling was on the trip to PJ, the trip from PJ to SJ was the opposite. There is no airport in PJ…just an airstrip and a Nature Air office. There were no weight restrictions coming back from PJ…we saw people with multiple bags that were clearly over 30 lbs.

Arrived in PJ after a stop at Drakes Bay. We all laughed at the little “airport” in Drakes Bay, but had a second laugh upon arrival at PJ…no airport there…just a cemetery and a throng of taxis.

BdC had apparently forgotten about us, so we took a taxi to the BdC office in town ($2…one of those times when you wish you knew how far away the office was…tico made an easy $2 off of us…c’est la vie…). BdC arranged for a taxi to take us to BdC, and it was at this point that I wished I knew more espanol. Again, consulting my trusty Lonely Planet book, we at least understood some of the sights the driver was pointing out. It is hard to understand how bad the road from PJ to BdC is until you ride it….completely indescribable, and a wonder that people don’t die on this road…some of the “bridges” are scary…

Arrived at BdC and got the typical treatment (nice cool drink) and Gerly was very helpful. I could go on and on about stay, but I’ll just hit the high points and answer any questions.

Stayed in Lapa for 7 nights. Awesome view from the deck. Had spider monkeys right below us every night at 4 pm. A pair of macaws come to the almond tree in the cabina to the left every afternoon at 3 pm. I would not recommend the garden cabinas.

BTW, the cabinas have limited power. Ours had an outlet which we used to charge our batteries. There is a small fan over the bed. Lights in bathroom and the rooms themselves. Power did go out almost every night, though.

Saw incredible wildlife everywhere. Peccaries scared the crap out of me on the Tiki Trail (they bark like dogs). The white faced chapuchins were always found on the BdC driveway.

Took the 4 hour tour with Phillip. He tries to talk you out of the tour, as it is mainly him talking about the rainforest (as anyone who has done it knows, the whole part about the leaf cutter ants is worth the price of the tour). He really opened up when he learned I am an amateur astronomer as we chatted about that. He left on Aug 10 for Nica to visit his wife and daughter. I think he is gone for a month. I would recommend a tour with him though. P.S.: I told him that he is an internet celebrity, and he mentioned that people always talk about “Suzie from Ohio” as if he knows her, but, of course, he doesn’t. Ask him about the time he got bit by a coral snake. If you like British humor, you will like Phillip.

Jose the bartender is a great guy. He played guitar and sang for us a couple of nights.

Gerly taught us all salsa one night after dinner.

Although the “rules” prohibit it, we had some drinks with a couple of the waitstaff. I highly recommend this, as we really got the whole local flavor during these drinking sessions (these people are so so helpful and wait on you hand-and-foot all day long, that it was nice for them to let their hair down and just hang out for a bit). Great stories (helps if you speak fluent Spanish or are with someone that does) and got invited to PJ to party with them one night.

Did the horseback riding with Miguel. Awesome experience, and Miguel is the dictionary definition of a Costa Rican cowboy. He rides barefoot and with a machete (which he brings for a reason…take the tour and find out why). Galloping a horse on a deserted beach…not enough words to describe that experience.

Highlight of the stay: the dolphin/sanctuary experience. We went out with Caliman. You HAVE to do this. Saw hundreds of dolphins…did the plane boarding thing and it was amazing to swim with them...they were below me…above me...to the left...to the right. Awesome. And Caliman is a trip...he loves his job, loves the dolphins. I actually drove the boat so he could planeboard with them as well (where else but in Costa Rica does the tourist drive the tourgide...). The sanctuary was AWESOME. Sweety the spider monkey is a trip…she is ticklish and has a great laugh. A baby howler monkey adopted me and slept on my shoulders for awhile. Don’t miss this one. At the end of the tour, we went to the Agua Luna 2 with Caliman for ceviche and cerveza (good deal here for Caliman...gets a tip, a meal, and muchos cervezas...worth it for the stories, though).

Loved the family style dinners. Great conversation. We would never have done the dolphin tour but for one group that recommended Caliman at dinner.

The food was always awesome. Over 8 days, never the same dinner twice. Dinners were huge. Lunches were huge. Boxed lunches were excellent (the PB&J “on steroids” is awesome). The tuna melt is as great as advertised. I also liked the chicken curry sandwich. Fruit was always awesome.

Never saw a scorpion. Only one spider on our mosquito net one night. Otherwise, very few bugs. Maybe 5 mosquito bites over 8 days of hiking.

Wife and I drank well…our bartab for the week was a “whopping” $100... The drinks are poured heavy, so beware. According to my wife, the best drink she had was a chocolate shake.

Tipping was a dilemma...we wanted to tip everyone, but it was hard to figure out how much, etc. We ended up leaving tips for the bartenders, and the three main waitstaff who waited on us. We also tipped Miguel, Caliman, and the drivers.

Did the PJ to Pavas to SJO to US trip in one day. Doable, but I was tired at the end of the trip. Taxi from Pavas to SJO was $15. US money is widely accepted in SJO and, of course, at BdC.

Next time we will schedule a day in PJ to shop and hang out....

I left out a lot of details, so let me know if you have any specific questions.

You, sir, have just shared with us in a grand way! I could just see it all, and can't wait to get back there! I can tell you had a wonderful time. . .thanks for the info on the dolphin tour--sounds like something we want to do. Thanks for taking the time to post your wonderful experience!

Thanks for bringing back some great memories. Lapa happens to be favourite cabina, so know you enjoyed your stay there. Jose sang for us a few nights as well and then would meet us at the bar after dinner and pour us some whoppers (and tell us some as well, lol). Cool you got to ride with Miguel, one of the coolest guys. He told us he'd been offered soooo much money for his land and wouldn't take it cause he said "what else would I do?" Phillip was really cool too, funny seeing him excited when I ran into the restaurant freaking about the snake on my porch...he was rather disappointed it was only a juvenile, bird-eating snake. Thanks for posting your report.

can you tell us more about the dolphin trip? It sounds as if you were able to swim with them, but I thought that was outlawed in jan, 2006?

Sounds like a rough start to your stay at Bosque but that all worked out in the end.

We have felt that Philip is worth the money on several trips. His narration is different every time because you never know what you will find. If you have any interest in nature he will open up otherwise he can be a bit shy. His real love are butterflies. The same day he told us about being bit by a coral snake one slithered into the dining room during dinner yikes!

He heads up to Nicaragua every few months. I usually bring a little something for him to take up to his "daughter". She is a cutie and he always has pictures to show us.

Jose is great. We met him about 8 years ago. His daughter was bartending at another bar closer to Pto Jimenez but she isn't working there anymore. I still see her frequently though. He owns a gift shop in town and we try to stop in and support him when we can. We have quite a few pieces of potter from his shop.

We actually got to kayak with the dolphins when on the mangrove kayak tour with escondido trex last fall. It is fun.

Glad you had a great time......Suzie from Ohio

Jose the bartender is a "jack of all trades." He has an art shop in PJ, "Artes of Osa" I believe. We went in there and did notice that the shop carried the same items that the shop at BdC carried (other than the BdC shirts), but were between 30-50% cheaper. If you like the items in the BdC shop, and are going into PJ, you can save some money by visiting Jose's shop.

Jose also sells real estate, if you are so inclined (and this topic must be the number 2 discussed topic at the bar...the whole "Phil and Kim did it so why can we" topic...). People forget that Phil and Kim bought their first 350 acres at $75/acre....good luck finding that price....

Dolphin swim: We went "planeboarding" with the dolphins. A piece of plywood about 1' x 2' with a cut out for your hand is attached to a ski rope. You hold onto the wood and can control you ascent and decent to about 15' in depth. You wear a dive mask. The boat runs through the dolphin and as you descend they swim right along beside you. It was impressive (I've gone swimming with trained dolphins before and this was more impressive, due to the sheer numbers of dolphins and the feeling of being immersed with them).

Miguel is the coolest dude. I'll have to post a pic of him.

Coldwaterconch,
Thanks for all the info. You do not recommend the garden cabana at the BdC. Can you tell my why? We are going in January and at this time the garden cabanas are the only cabanas available. Should we search for another place to stay?
Laura