lisa

DH & I returned last week from a wonderful 10-day stay at Bosque del Cabo. We had been to Lapa Rios 10 years ago and loved the area but wanted to stay someplace different this time.

BdC was just what the doctor ordered. Thanks to the recommendations here we requested Congo cabina and that view was amazing! The spider monkeys tended to come around in front of the cabin in the late afternoon/early evening every day, and we enjoyed watching macaws in our almond tree one afternoon.

I will say that we were very glad we were staying in that location and not in the garden cabinas. The garden area did not get the breeze at all and it was so much hotter there.

We did a ton of hiking and saw lots of wildlife and just relaxed. I got a fantastic massage one day from Jutta, which I definitely recommend.

We did the birding tour one morning with Carlos and were amazed the way he could call different birds. We were lucky to see trogons and currasows. We also did the evening walk with Philip one night which was fantastic. We got to see lots of different kinds of frogs, some of them mating. We also saw a fer de lance (which I almost stepped on) and a coral snake. One night in the dining pavilion a bird-eating snake caught a bat and constricted it and swallowed it which was a very long process that was fascinating to watch. An opossom gave birth on the front desk one night and when we went to breakfast the next morning we got to see her with the tiny 5 little babies, so cute!

We were very fortunate with the weather -- while it rained every night, of the 10 days we were there it only rained in the daytime once or twice and that was late in the afternoon.

The food was excellent, especially the arroz con pollo. Dinners were particularly good.

We did not get to meet Phil but Kim was there for a few days with their son. The only minor irritation we had was their dog yapped a lot which was not a sound we enjoyed hearing compared to the birds and the surf. But the dog was only there for a few days.

We enjoyed cooling off in the pool most afternoons. Don't miss the lime & coconut drinks they make at the bar!

The waterfall on the Pacific Trail is a "don't miss" -- we did that hike twice. We also hiked the Titi Trail twice, but no puma sighting! We enjoyed the cat presentation by Aida before dinner one evening and learned all about her research using camera traps. The Golfo Dulce trail was another highlight; we saw so many macaws at the end it was incredible.

We did not have many problems with mosquitos during the trip but did use the mosquito netting at night.

Congo cabina had some issues with its drains when we were there -- very slow -- but we liked the view so much we decided to put up with it.

Puerto Jimenez has changed a lot in the 10 years since we were last there -- it is much more developed now. The Jagua gift shop around the corner from the airport is wonderful.

That's about it. Thanks again to everyone here for all your advice, it was very useful.

tully

Glad to hear about your wonderful time. Yes indeed the view from Congo is splendid. Sounds like you got a lot of hiking done and some good spottings. Even from the restaurant!

Melissa5

Lisa, thanks for sharing...I'm excited since we're staying at Bosque del Cabo for our first time on the Osa in January! Since my husband is a biologist, we won't do more than one guided walk since my husband would prefer to walk on our own. But I was curious about which guided walk you would recommend to us, considering that we will only do one? (We'll of course do lots of walks on our own.)

My husband will be pleased if he gets to see any snakes! (I could do without those...)

It sounds like you had a great time and saw a lot of wildlife. I hope the yapping dog isn't too troublesome in January...we are going to be in the Mariposa cabina, the one on the furthest end (deluxe cabina with ocean view.) Congo was already booked.

ShellD

Sounds like a great trip! And great wildlife viewing - snakes eating bats and oppossums giving birth! Wow! Nothing like enjoying 10 days in nature is there?

Thanks for the report! I'm hoping to go back in June, so I love hearing all about everyone's trips until then!

shillmac

Melissa, Phillip's walking/talking tours in no way replace the time you will spend hiking and looking on your own. But they are both extremely informative. The a.m. tour on the Zapatero Trail is chock full of information regarding the interdependency of the plant life, etc (things you and your bio hubby may already know and not care to hear from another expert). The night tour around the grounds is fascinating since darkness brings out a whole other world of wildlife. It only takes about an hour. Most people enjoy doing both of those tours, even though they plan to hike extensively on their own.

Melissa5

shillmac, thanks for the info on the walking tours with Phillip. I guess I can gather info, and then have my husband talk with Phillip when we arrive. I'll tell my husband I'd like to go on at least one walking tour, and let him pick out which tour. It seems like a night tour would be less scary with more people...more pairs of eyes in the night to spot things!

Melissa5

I wonder if there is frequently a yapping dog at Bosque del Cabo?

hipvirgochick

Thanks for reporting back. Sounds like a wonderful trip!

Melissa - FYI the dog is just a puppy. Her name is Izzy and she's one of Maggie's (the owners) pups. I only noticed her barking when people were encouraging it (play barking with her) but otherwise I imagine it's just a puppy stage.

shillmac

Melissa, none of it is scary. The night tour is interesting. Just be forewarned, Phillip is one who likes to talk and explain (which he does well as he is quite knowledgeable) about the rainforest; he isn't so high on lots of discussion during his tours. On the night tour, Phillip will do the spotting, rest assured. It's his show and he likes to be in charge of it! He knows just where to look and for what; you won't be walk around the grounds willy nilly with everyone trying to see what they can find.

And although we were around Maggie and Izzy, I don't recall a lot barking--or at least wasn't annoyed about it enough to remember it!

volcanogirl

We did the Primary Forest Tour with Phillip - it was about 4 hours and really interesting to us to see how everything was interrelated and interacted. He has a very dry wit.

Loved our birding tour with Carlos too. We had been at BdC for three days and not seen a single toucan, so he found one for us.

lisa, wow, you had great animal sightings!

Melissa5

Thanks to lisa for her trip report, and thanks to everyone who jumped in and answered my questions about the dog and also about Phillip's guided tours. I appreciate the info.

koala

Unfortunately we opted for one of the garden cabinas due to cost. Is there an ocean view from the pool at all? If not we'll walk around the grounds and I'm sure we'll be fairly active anyway.