Lawchik

Good morning,

One of the most valuable tools for researching my trip to Costa Rica were posts and reviews from fellow travelers. It was invaluable, and I thought I would share my thoughts on the places I visited while in Costa Rica.

Delta Airlines and US Customs: In the future, I will avoid flying with them at all costs. My fiancé and I were heading to Costa Rica for our wedding and honeymoon. Our flight left Toronto at 6:00 am, with a stop over in Atlanta. I understand that the world, and travel is a different experience now, but I really didn’t need to be searched 3 different times. What I didn’t understand was the scrutiny of US Customs and Immigration. It was a stop over for 90 min, and if it were at all possible, we would have avoided landing in the USA, period. It was unfortunate that there were no direct flights. I guess what I am saying is that it felt as if we were coming to the states for some untoward reason….when in reality, the US wasn’t even where we were heading, and trust me, we didn’t even wish to lay over there at all. Throughout our trip we had heard many Europeans going through Spain to avoid landing in the US.

When we landed in San Jose, we were slightly late, but not a big deal. I was soon to find out what the big deal really was…..my lost suitcase. My lost suitcase with my wedding dress in it. Did Delta care? No. Did Delta offer any assistance at all? No. Did I fill out 500 forms? Yes. My concern was getting the bag back in time for the wedding, and really, getting it back period. We were only staying in San Jose for one night as we were heading to the Corcovado Tent Lodge in the Osa Peninsula at 6:30 the next morning. I had serious doubts that I would ever see that bag again. I will revisit this topic later on, as well as my return flight with Delta, which was another show of poor customer service.

Hotel Grano de Oro: I really enjoyed my stay here, as short as it was. The staff was helpful and very professional. As soon as we dropped our bags off we went for a walk down to the market. We only had 2 hrs of light left at this point, so we didn’t explore much of San Jose. We bought some items carved from wood (very inexpensive) from one vendor who told us we had better get back to the hotel before dark, and gave us a few other tips. He had warned us that it was payday and there were many pickpockets out and about. We returned to Oro and had supper in the restaurant. The food was amazing, the service was wonderful, the prices were perfect, and the back terrace was a beautiful spot to enjoy all of this! I had the sea bass encrusted with macadamia nuts. The banana ice cream with coconut rum is to die for too.

Corcovado Tent Lodge & Costa Rica Expeditions: This was the absolute highlight of the trip (besides getting married of course). I had come across Costa Rica Expeditions on the web, and booked the trip down to the Osa with them. (Amazing care of it’s customers. Before we left I emailed Herrol a million times for information about this and that, and he was gracious, helpful, and never treated me like I was a pain in the butt.) Gilbert and his co-workers were waiting for us downstairs at the hotel exactly on time. I thought I would tell them about my lost bag to see if they could help. I had barely finished speaking when Gilbert pulled out his forms, asked for a copy of my passport, and said, not to worry, we will take care of it for you. I was so thankful! Not only did they take care of this, they also stored our extra baggage in the SJ main office. There is a weight limit for baggage on the Nature Air flights, and we were well over it. They brought us to the Tobias Bolanos airport, walked us through everything we needed to do, and were on their way. Nature Air was an hour late, and let me tell you…hold on to your barf bags! I have never been so sick on a flight in my life before. I’ve never been on a small plane like that. It was so much fun, the view beautiful, but I’m afraid my stomach was trailing behind the plane, wind surfing.

We landed in Puerto Jimenez. We were greeted by Dennis, who was our driver to the beach (Carate) where you begin your walk to the Tent Lodge. This is the point in my Costa Rica trip that I started eating Gravol like candy (anti-nausea pills). The road is very bumpy, swirvey, flooded, and loopy. But, Dennis stopped and pointed out animals for us every time he saw something. It kind of kept your mind off the road. He was informative and a really nice guy. We reached the beach area in about 1.5-2 hrs. Edgar was waiting for us with the horse and cart. He waited while I changed as it was pretty hot there! After he loaded our luggage on the carriage, he radioed ahead to the Tent Lodge to have our lunch ready. We started out, and right away I knew this was the best place on earth. The ocean coming right up to the jungle was a sight I have never seen, or imagined before. Just amazing! My fiancé and I lagged behind to take pictures every few meters. When we got to the Tent Lodge, they had a welcome drink and lunch ready. The dining hut is set up on the hill and you get a magnificent view of the ocean while you eat. And here is the best part: we were the only people there!! We had the whole place to ourselves!! Another couple was coming in later that night. We came just at the right time as the rainy season was just ending. We were shown our tent, which was fantastic. Steps away from the ocean, clean, and quite comfortable. The flowers left on the bed and pillow were a really sweet touch.

At 5:30 the bar opens. Power is generated and only on certain periods of the day. We sat out on the terrace and enjoyed a “Spider Monkey”. Fresh fruit and coconut rum. Really nice. Evening supper was at 6:30. The food was plentiful and delicious. You eat family style at one table. We met the British couple who were quite nice and we enjoyed them as camp mates.

The power goes off at 9:00 pm. I am amazed still at what I saw and heard. What I saw: absolutely nothing. Black as black can be. It truly felt like you were thousands of miles away from civilization. No light pollution, nothing. What I heard: the incredible sounds of the jungle. Birds, frogs, monkeys……and all of this was overpowered by the sound of the surf. I never knew waves could sound like that. Sleep came quick and was blissful. The next morning I find out that Costa Rica Expeditions had found my bag and had in their office for us!

After breakfast we did the platform tour. Out guide was fantastic. All of the guides here seem to really enjoy what they are doing, and get just as excited as you when you see the wildlife. When we returned to the Tent Lodge, we had a bit of unfortunate news. For the first time since the park opened, Corcovado NP was being shut down the next day due to the inexplicable amount of animal deaths in the park. The authorities were going in to study the area to see what was going on. We had originally planned a full day hike into the park for the next day. The guide said if you want to get into the park, you have to go now. Have lunch first, and we’ll take you in. Marcia was our guide for that, and again, she was wonderful. We saw so many birds, monkeys, animals I don’t even know, etc. We saw many many monkeys, but that in itself was very sad as they were so close to the ocean to forage for food. It was a sign that something was wrong in the jungle. We were so happy that the Tent Lodge was on top of the situation and got us in the last few hrs the park was open. Later that night a Dutch couple arrived and had just missed getting in. They were pretty upset, and the last night we were there a Canadian couple arrived and missed out as well. All in all, there were 6 people in total during my 4 days there. They were all really nice company too.

The trip back to San Jose was just as easy as the trip down. Except the part where we were crying and throwing ourselves on the sand because we didn’t want to leave! 

It seems like I’ve said a lot, but I have so much more to say. Suffice it to say that Corcovado Tent Lodge and Corcovado NP are well worth the effort it takes to get there. Everything on this leg of the trip was perfect, and it is rather extensive to co-ordinate on their end. Staying at the Tent Lodge and hiking in the park is an experience I will never forget. This place is beautiful, amazing……and a place to rest your soul; at the same time rejuvenating your soul with incredible, indelible images and sounds.

Hotel Grano de Oro, part 2: Costa Rica Expeditions dropped us back off at Oro. This was our pick up for the next leg of the trip, which was the Peace Lodge. We had 2 hrs to wait, so we ate lunch at the hotel (amazing again). The hotel was kind enough to lock up our luggage while we ate, even though we were not staying there! Excellent care of past and present guests and I would return here again.

Peace Lodge: I have mixed thoughts on this place. This is where we were married…down by the falls. They were great with all the correspondence in organizing everything, but there was one issue that went really really bad: they had messed up my reservation. I had booked the photographer, flights, lawyer, etc when they contacted me and say well, we don’t have the room you reserved, and we don’t have a room at all. It was all sorted out in the end and I did get my requested room, but we were a little concerned.

The cab they arranged was on time for the pick up at Oro. Another great guy who told us stories of the area. Arrived at the Peace Lodge, shown our room which was nothing I had ever seen before. The deluxe room was luxurious with a huge bed, waterfall in the room, Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom and one on the balcony. One huge shock from going someplace like Osa to here was the noise. Construction was in full swing, which I understand is the luck of the draw, but it was really disappointing. Anyway, there was also a huge fire place…….which promptly broke down. The next morning was our wedding day, and although it was great that they sent someone in to fix it, the morning of the wedding was not the right time. After 3 hrs of maintenance men being in our room, we called down to ask them to move us so we could get ready in peace. They had originally said no, but when my fiancé pushed, they did show us to an empty room where my hair and make up could be done. Scary moment: the power went out half way though my hair appointment. Now that would have made for some interesting pictures! The fire place ended up being broken almost the entire time we were there. The power was out the last night of our stay as well. Not a big deal, but it took 2 hrs for them to bring us candles. We were lucky to have book lights to use as flashlights.

The wedding at La Paz Waterfalls and Peace Lodge: This location for a wedding is unbeatable. Very beautiful!! Everything was perfect and went smoothly. There was just the 2 of us, so it was rather stress free. We had the romance package for our room that night, and they really did a wonderful job setting up the room.

The next day, and the rest of the time there we did all of the day trips: Doka, Arenal and Poas Volcano, rafting, horseback riding, Tabacon. All ran on time and we had wonderful guides on all of the trips. Again, although the Peace Lodge seemed to be full, we had almost all of these trips to ourselves. This is an amazing way to learn things not mentioned in a tour book. We did have one trip where there were 4 other people with us. Although they were really nice, all they spoke of the entire trip was what their jobs were, who knew who, etc…. all the while these beautiful sights are passing by us and the guide didn’t even bother trying to speak over them or interrupt them all. We would have liked to listen to him! The things to do on the grounds were free as part of our room. The Butterfly pavilion was just beautiful, and we enjoyed the frog run as well. Food, a little pricy, and not the greatest.

And I guess that brings me to my dilemma about the Peace Lodge. I think it was too ‘westernized”, which was a shock after coming from Corcovado. I wish we had done it reverse order perhaps. The rooms were really cool, but not the real Costa Rica experience. The people beside us had their in-room CD player just cranked. Add that with all of the construction noise I felt like I was in New York City. I don’t understand why you would come to CR and sit in your room with the music cranked, but I think that’s just the way it is in some locations. Maybe too touristy? It was a great place to stop, but I think I would only stay a day or 2. We are so happy we were married at the Falls though. It seems that we are just more the Tent Lodge type. I agree with the one poster here who equated Peace Lodge to Disney.

Delta Airlines and US Customs, part 2: We arrived at the San Jose airport with no problem. The Delta line was huge. After waiting about an hour, the line started to move. I hate the fact that they search your suitcase on a table right beside the line! I didn’t see any other airline doing this. We actually over heard people saying thank god we didn’t fly Delta! Anyway, after being searched again, everything unpacked, souvenirs broken, we get to the gate and it’s time to go. We fly back to Atlanta, and land with 20 min to get to the other side of the airport for our connecting flight. But not before I am stopped and searched again. We get to the gate and there’s not a person in sight. The gate attendant is telling us to hurry as the plane is backing away. He said to us that they were “wondering” where we were as all of the other CR connection passengers made it. Um, maybe I was being searched again, and again, then a woman guard searched me again? Could that be it?? There was no page for us, and what really peeved us off was the fact that they knew we landed, knew we were in the airport, and they did nothing to facilitate us. And please note, after all the delays, we had still made it to the gate before the scheduled departure. They had no intention of giving us a few min to make it over. They gate attendant called the pilot who pulled back up to let us on, but, as you can guess….when we land in Toronto, where might all of our luggage be?? We don’t know if they managed to lose 4 suitcases, or pulled them off the plane, but what a mess. So back to the lost baggage counter at 12:30 am. This is my own fault, and I should have known better after the original flight, but we had put our leather coats in the luggage as it was too hot to carry them around in CR. We thought we would just pull them out when we got in the cab in Toronto. So when we finally left at 1:30 am, we had no coats, and it was -20. I live 30 min from the airport, and it took another 2 days to get our luggage back. Delta was the nightmare in an otherwise wonderful vacation.

Best of the Best: Although there is much of the trip I left out, I can’t recommend Corcovado Tent Lodge enough. This was truly the place to be to enjoy all that Costa Rica has to offer. I am anxious to see the rest of the country, and will use Costa Rica Expeditions to do so. If you are planning to go away for a wedding, La Paz Waterfalls will provide you with an unbelievable back ground. We can’t wait to see the pictures!

sandyc

Congratulations on your wedding! Sounds like you ended up having a pretty good trip, even though it didn't start out well w/ the airlines. About the Peace Lodge and the neighbors cranking up the stereo -- the reason that people go to the Peace Lodge is to stay in their rooms. With the huge garden bathrooms, indoor & outdoor jacuzzis, fireplace, beautiful bed, etc., people are busy in their rooms -- you're lucky all you heard was the stereo.

Sandy

mtbaker

Loved your report. What a memorable place to be married--in Costa Rica.

Being an American, my husband and I were dismayed when we heard what "foreigners" were being subjected to when having to stop over in the US on their way through to CR. We're sorry! Your trip is very similar to some of our experiences in many ways--places we stayed and dissatisfaction with the airlines, in our case American Airlines. I won't go into great detail, but returning home our AA flight was late getting to Miami and then we had to sit on the runway for over 30 min. We ran about a mile in the terminal to baggage pickup trying to make our connecting flight and we thought we'd made it until an airport employee sent us to the "missed flights" line 20 min. before the flight took off. After waiting in line for a couple of hours wth about 100 other people while 2 AA employees tried to reschedule everyone, they had to put us up overnight. The next morning there were more problems with the tickets AA had issued the night before and they told us we couldnt get on the flight even though they'd already checked our luggage. We finally kicked and screamed and they let us on. Suffice it to say we really don't want to fly AA again and I guess not Delta either.

We stayed at Grano de Oro 2 nights and spent a lot of time on the outdoor patio you mentioned, working our way through the menu. I had sea bass on 3 occasions and talapia on another. Yum. And the banana ice cream with coconut rum. Double yum.

Our Nature Air flight to Puerto Jiminez was an hour late too. We stayed at Bosque del Cabo but I was interested to read about Corcovado Tent Lodge as that had been one of my choices.

Your reminiscing about the atmosphere on the Osa is right on. There was so much wildlife and we loved the pitch black at night and the fact we had to use headlamps to negotiate our way around. We also enjoyed the family style dining at Bosque as you get to meet new people and share stories. We were there right before the busy season too, so we fetl very spoiled as we often had the places to ourselves.

And last but not least, you made me feel good about choosing not to stay at Peace Lodge. I thought it might be too touristy and "westernized" for what we wanted out of Costa Rica.

Thanks for the great report Lawchik.

LocalHero

Lawchik,
Congrats and best wishes on your wedding!
When did you make this trip?
I was in Corcovado in Oct right when Wilma was passing by and the rain kept us from seeing much of anything but I want to go back.
The Corcovado Tent Lodge sounds pretty nice...was it expensive?

Thanks for the report!

cmcfong

Best wishes on your wedding and thank you for such a detailled trip report. It is very helpful.

Lawchik

Thanks everyone for your warm wishes! We were in CR from Dec.2-11. We just squeaked in the cheaper season.

I've c&p the info from www.costaricaexpeditions.com of the package we did. They have other packages as well, or just add on days if you like. It was $328 each, which we thought was a really great price because it included air and taxi, as you will see below. Lunch was $11 and supper was $15. I have another good link, but can't seem to find it. I'll look it up on my work computer tomorrow.

CORCOVADO RAINFOREST ADVENTURE (CRPJ)

Via Puerto Jimenez & land transfer to Carate.
4 Days/3 Nights
From US$328.00 per person in double occupancy (or US$82.00 per person per day).*
A no frills excursion at the unique Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp.

Letter Codes: (B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch, (D) Dinner.

DAY 1
Pick up at San Jose hotel for 30-60 minute transfer to airport for the flight to Puerto Jimenez (50 mins.). Upon arrival at Puerto Jimenez, you will be met by a local taxi (Spanish-speaking driver) for the three-hour transfer to Carate, where a Corcovado Lodge Guide will be waiting to take you on the 30-45 minute walk to the tent camp (luggage transported by the Lodge). Overnight at Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp.

DAYS 2 & 3
Free days for you to relax or participate in the Lodge's optional activities (additional cost). Overnight and breakfast at Corcovado Lodge. (B)

DAY 4
After breakfast return to San Jose in reverse order of Day 1. (B)

Includes: Three nights lodging at Corcovado Lodge, three breakfasts, RT air San Jose-Puerto Jimenez-San Jose (one seat on plane), RT taxi Puerto Jimenez-Carate-Puerto Jimenez (one seat with Spanish-speaking driver), all airport transfers. Taxes and entrance fees in effect at the time of booking are included.


*Price per person in US$, based on double occupancy. Taxes included. Price valid from May 1 to Dec. 14, 2005.

greenfieldhunter

I am sorry about your experience at US customs- many Americans are unaware it has a reputation for being the worst in the world.

As far as your return search in San Jose airport goes- this is normal on all airlines. Not the best way to say goodbye to CR but I have never avoided it.

I think one of the things they are searching for is rare flora and fauna- unfortunately smuggling birds is a hot business. Once you see a scarlet

Glad you got your wedding dress back in time although I am suprized you checked. Never check anything you will truly need on an american airline.

I too, suspect I would have similar feeling about "Peace" Lodge.

Congrads

fae

Do you have a website address for the Hotel Granade Oro?

Lawchik

Grano de Oro: http://www.hotelgranodeoro.com/indexflash.html

Another link for the Tent Lodge: http://www.corcovadolodge.com/info/

Have a great day!