Osa, Costa Rica trip - May/June
Jun 23rd, 2010, 04:26 PM
#22
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Okay, famous last words but I will try to keep this short. Greiven came to pick me up for the 10 minute drive to Bosque. Stayed 6 nights (which is never enough) and as always, enjoyed every moment of it. Okay, well I didn't enjoy the 6.3 earthquake at 9:25 one night, but that's blameless. Stayed in Congo, which was being re-done on my last Nov visit and was now nice and sparkly new with an even bigger deck. I did not take any guided hikes this trip or go on any outside trips, there's always so much to do I always feel a little selfish with my time - even if some of that time is spent doing absolutely nothing on the deck. Had several visits of spider and capuchin monkeys right off the deck, plus some macaws a mere 20 feet away. The wildlife is still the same as before, plentiful and everywhere. You can hike til your sweaty and tired or you can just wander around the restaurant driveway and either way still see so much.
I think a good example of the variety of what Bosque offers was a family reunion/birthday celebration that was being held there for a family of 15, with ages from 8 to 75. The grandfather who brought all of them was a gem, I heard him oversay "you know we could be anywhere in the world, but this place - this place has a soul". Not to mention 2 different couples telling me how they never go back to the same place but that Bosque had them changing their minds.
I hiked almost all of the trails except the Golfo Dulce trail. The puma was around and about, though I wasn't lucky to spy him/her. One of the interns though decided after breakfast one day to go do the Titi trail real quick and of course, had the puma run right in front of her! The groundskeepers are always eager to point out something you may have overlooked. One day I had one motioning me to come over and see a pretty/ugly King Vulture; and another alerted me to some howlers who were silently napping above us in the trees. Lots of macaws this trip, seemed like we had front row seats for the Puerto Jimenez - Carate express. But no matter how long I sat there on the deck, camera on and aimed, I could never catch one in flight. Well I did get one but I'd have to convince you those little spots were really macaws and not dirt on my camera lens.
Maureen outdid herself with the food, always so fresh and plentiful and filling. My plates started out so full til I reined myself in a little over the days. Feel free to ask her about any of the foods out there, she is usually out there when serving and loves to talk food! The staff is always on hand and never make you feel like you're just a guest, more like a friend. Always good to come back and see so many of the same faces - Heylin, Gerly, Berni, Greiven etc.
There wasn't one of the Cat slide shows when I was there but Philip, the biologist, had a funny talk about photos he's taken for his book coming out next year. Really makes you want to go out and inspect every single leaf you pass by, for the remarkable katydids. Saw 2 snakes; one was a couple inches long baby coral snake I almost stepped on on the Pacific Trail, the other was just your normal bird-eating snakes on the trail up to El Remanso next door.
Very humid this trip, I had the inside of my viewer on my camera fog up a few times, but didn't affect the camera at all. We had a wicked wind/rain storm one night, took down lots of branches and trees. In fact, some people coming back from kayaking got stuck. Pulling into the Bosque driveway there was a big tree down that Maverick, the driver, in the pouring rain, tried to hack thru with a machete but no luck. So then he ran the 1.5 kms back to the lodge to get another car to drive up to the other side so everyone could get back to the lodge. Always an adventure on the Osa!
So to wrap this up, Bosque del Cabo is always the highlight of my trips to CR; as soon as I leave I'm already figuring when I can get back. If you're looking for a pool scene, nightlife, a/c, tv's or hermetically sealed rooms, it's probably not the place for you. It's hot, yes, though cools down nicely at night, it may or may not rain, and you may find youself being woken up by a troop of howler monkeys above your cabina at 4:30am; but it really is a very unique & special place that I would recommend to anyone looking to enjoy wildlife, tranquility and top-notch food and accomodations.
Will finish up with Xandari soon.......
I think a good example of the variety of what Bosque offers was a family reunion/birthday celebration that was being held there for a family of 15, with ages from 8 to 75. The grandfather who brought all of them was a gem, I heard him oversay "you know we could be anywhere in the world, but this place - this place has a soul". Not to mention 2 different couples telling me how they never go back to the same place but that Bosque had them changing their minds.
I hiked almost all of the trails except the Golfo Dulce trail. The puma was around and about, though I wasn't lucky to spy him/her. One of the interns though decided after breakfast one day to go do the Titi trail real quick and of course, had the puma run right in front of her! The groundskeepers are always eager to point out something you may have overlooked. One day I had one motioning me to come over and see a pretty/ugly King Vulture; and another alerted me to some howlers who were silently napping above us in the trees. Lots of macaws this trip, seemed like we had front row seats for the Puerto Jimenez - Carate express. But no matter how long I sat there on the deck, camera on and aimed, I could never catch one in flight. Well I did get one but I'd have to convince you those little spots were really macaws and not dirt on my camera lens.
Maureen outdid herself with the food, always so fresh and plentiful and filling. My plates started out so full til I reined myself in a little over the days. Feel free to ask her about any of the foods out there, she is usually out there when serving and loves to talk food! The staff is always on hand and never make you feel like you're just a guest, more like a friend. Always good to come back and see so many of the same faces - Heylin, Gerly, Berni, Greiven etc.
There wasn't one of the Cat slide shows when I was there but Philip, the biologist, had a funny talk about photos he's taken for his book coming out next year. Really makes you want to go out and inspect every single leaf you pass by, for the remarkable katydids. Saw 2 snakes; one was a couple inches long baby coral snake I almost stepped on on the Pacific Trail, the other was just your normal bird-eating snakes on the trail up to El Remanso next door.
Very humid this trip, I had the inside of my viewer on my camera fog up a few times, but didn't affect the camera at all. We had a wicked wind/rain storm one night, took down lots of branches and trees. In fact, some people coming back from kayaking got stuck. Pulling into the Bosque driveway there was a big tree down that Maverick, the driver, in the pouring rain, tried to hack thru with a machete but no luck. So then he ran the 1.5 kms back to the lodge to get another car to drive up to the other side so everyone could get back to the lodge. Always an adventure on the Osa!
So to wrap this up, Bosque del Cabo is always the highlight of my trips to CR; as soon as I leave I'm already figuring when I can get back. If you're looking for a pool scene, nightlife, a/c, tv's or hermetically sealed rooms, it's probably not the place for you. It's hot, yes, though cools down nicely at night, it may or may not rain, and you may find youself being woken up by a troop of howler monkeys above your cabina at 4:30am; but it really is a very unique & special place that I would recommend to anyone looking to enjoy wildlife, tranquility and top-notch food and accomodations.
Will finish up with Xandari soon.......
Jun 23rd, 2010, 05:51 PM
#23
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Excellent Bosque recap, tully! It is indeed an amazingly beautiful place. Sorry that darned puma still did not cooperate. I still can't get over all the sightings that happened last year while we were all there, and none of us saw caught even a fleeting glimpse...
Jun 24th, 2010, 06:35 AM
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Thank you so much for the pictures and the well-done reviews. We have planned and reserved an all Osa only trip for next Jan. Feb. as a 50th anniversary extravaganza, staying at Luna Lodge (Honeymoon Suite), La Guinda (thanks to your photos) at El Remanso, and Mariposa at BdC.
We learned on our first trip to BdC that the howlers and the spiders sometimes bed down very close to each other at nightfall. The spiders are not at all silent and will scream shrilly when disturbed. Each morning, there was an initial chorus of howlers, followed a second later by the spiders screaming their lungs out. At first we thought there were soprano howlers as well as the basses, but when we heard, on a subsequent trip, the spiders screaming on their own, we figured out that we were actually hearing a double choir. We love the Pacific lowlands, and Osa is still unspoiled enough that we can enjoy the wonderful lodges there.
We learned on our first trip to BdC that the howlers and the spiders sometimes bed down very close to each other at nightfall. The spiders are not at all silent and will scream shrilly when disturbed. Each morning, there was an initial chorus of howlers, followed a second later by the spiders screaming their lungs out. At first we thought there were soprano howlers as well as the basses, but when we heard, on a subsequent trip, the spiders screaming on their own, we figured out that we were actually hearing a double choir. We love the Pacific lowlands, and Osa is still unspoiled enough that we can enjoy the wonderful lodges there.
Jul 16th, 2010, 06:15 PM
#27
Thanks tully, I was following in my usual quiet way 
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