fae

This is a trip report of our vacation to the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. It was our second trip. We had previously gone for a week in late July of 2000 to Vista del Valle (first and last nights) and Lapa Rios (5 nights). This trip we went Aug. 4 -11, 2004 and again stayed the first and last night at Vista del Valle and then 5 nights at Bosque del Cabo. Again, as our previous trip, we absolutely love the Osa Peninsula. It really tugs at my heart when we leave. It is incredibly beautiful and the people are so courteous and friendly. It is truly a paradise on earth?

We flew American Airlines non-stop from Dallas to San Jose. It is a little over 4 hour flight. But non-stop was really nice this time. The prior trip we had connected in Houston. We had arranged our transfers to/from the International Airport and to/from Pavas Airport (Nature Air to/from Puerto Jimenez) with Vista del Valle. We had the same driver each time so that made it easy to know who you were looking for. Vista del Valle is about 20 minutes NW of the Int?l. airport and the fare is $20 one way (that is the total for all four of us). Vista del Valle is about 45 minutes from the Pavas airport and the fare is $35 one way. One note about the departure tax at the airport ? they do not take traveler?s checks which I did not know. I waited through the line to be told I needed to go pay a fee to cash in travelers check at the bank right next to the departure tax desk and get back in line to pay the departure tax. Minor glitch but I thought travelers checks were suppose to be like cash ? but transfer driver did not want them either.

Our first and last nights were at Vista del Valle. This place is gorgeous. The grounds are like botanical gardens and the outdoor restaurant overlooking the canyon has a gorgeous view and superb food. Wonderful hike to a spectacular 300 foot waterfall! Cooked to order breakfast is included ? very fresh and delicious. We also had both our dinners here. You just have to let them know ahead of time. The jumbo sautéd shrimp was excellent and they made pasta for the kids. By the way, our kids are 17 (girl) and 13 (boy). They had both been with us when we were here in 2000. We stayed in the ?El Nido? bungalow. It had a queen bed, a double futon bed, and they had brought in a single futon bed so the kids could sleep more comfortably in separate beds. The sleeping arrangements dictated a lot with regards to where we stayed this time. I wanted all to sleep well as we stay very active during the day. My husband and I are used to a king bed so a double bed does not make for very restful nights for us. One drawback on the bungalow ? it is right in front of a workers building. Although you really can?t see the other building behind you we could hear a lot of talking which when we got in on the afternoon of the last night and crashed it kind of took away from the peacefulness of staying at Vista del Valle. The total cost for 4 people for lodging, all taxes, breakfast, and two superb dinners was $622. Their website is vistadelvalle.com.

The next morning we were off for Puerto Jimenez and Bosque del Cabo. I was fully prepared to pay for our extra luggage weight. I had e-mailed Nature Air earlier and ask them since our kids only weigh 80 lbs. and 110 lbs. and paid as adults would they let us bring extra luggage. They replied with the standard policy on 25 lbs. max and price per lb. overage. However, when we got there they weighed each bag then weighed each person with our backpacks, totaled it up and gave us our boarding passes. That is what I expected because the kids don?t weigh that much so we probably got a break on the luggage overage. On the way back from Pt. Jimenez the ?baggage check in? in beside the cemetery which is beside the runway. Nothing is weighed. There only appears to be a guy who makes sure no one is standing on the runway when the plane is landing. The plane lands, unloads, loads back up, your name is checked off a list, and it takes off again. No security here! The Nature Air plane is a Twin Otter with high wings and huge picture windows. It holds 19 people, has two pilots, is climate controlled and is real nice. We had flown on their smaller 7 (?) passenger plane last time and you could see so much better out of this plane. The flight still yo-yos some getting over the mountains leaving San Jose so my husband still took his motion medicine and he was fine. On the return flight we went through some storms that got pretty rough and my husband did not feel so great after that flight even with the medicine.

We were met at the landing strip by Kevin from Bosque del Cabo. He ended up being our driver whenever we needed any transportation at Bosque. We rode to Bosque with another couple and their 12 year old son from Michigan. It is a very bumpy ride from Pt. Jimenez to Bosque. It was raining so lots of huge potholes full of water to dodge. Kevin said it had rained very hard the night before. As far as rain goes, it only rained the first two nights we were at Bosque and that was not heavy storms but great pitter-patter to sleep by. Never did it rain on us during the day ? only tried to sprinkle some. In fact, the day we did the dolphin tour it was raining all night but cleared to a gorgeous day for the dolphin tour.

When we got to Bosque around 2:00 pm they immediately fed us lunch before taking us to our room. Warning ? they are building a new restaurant that is going to be gorgeous at Bosque. Never bothered us any with construction noise ? they try to saw, etc. away from the cabañas and bring the materials up to the work site to assembly. They were working on installing the thatch roof and that was interesting to watch how they do that. But my point is ? when we got there no one told us they had torn down the old restaurant in exactly the new place they were building the new one. Some having been at Lapa Rios previously we were kind of thinking this bar/canopy/tent//pool area seemed kind of makeshift which is was but nobody told us that until the second day. Having now knowing that the bar area took on a whole new look when we realized the restaurant would not be crammed into the bar when the new restaurant was finished.

They took us after lunch to our cabaña. We had La Palma, one of the deluxe cabañas. It is quite beautiful. It has a kind bed downstairs and a loft area accessible by a ladder where the kids had 2 single beds and candles. The loft area was open on each end ? picture a gable with the upper part open. When you got up in the loft it looked out like you were in a tree house. It has a living area, large bath, and an outdoor shower. However, the outdoor shower was a problem for us. The stucco walls of the shower seemed to be about a foot or more lower than the rest of the cabaña showers. There was a cabaña above ours and one of us stood in the shower and one went to the porch of the other cabaña and you could see way too much in our shower. My husband went to ask to be moved but was informed they were full. However, Phil, the owner promptly came down and said they would fix the situation. They came back with two fan palm leaves (they are huge) and put one on each side that was a problem and it gave us complete privacy. The outdoor showers are so nice ? they have lots of propane heated hot water and large saucer-type heads that feel great to stand and shower under!

A word of warning if this bothers you ? it did not bother us in the least ? you do not get a room key ? nothing has locks. There is a combo safe in your cabaña ? we put all our valuables there. We had no trouble with any bugs or mosquitoes ever at Bosque except a huge scorpion (about 4? long) we found under the bed when we moved to Casa Blanca. I had taken bug repellent and never used any. This is consistent with what we experienced at Lapa Rios on our previous visit. We did not use the mosquito netting and the kid?s beds at La Palma did not even have netting. The house at Casa Blanca did not have netting because there were screens on all the doors and windows.

We immediately got changed and headed down the Pacific Trail to the Pacific Beach. This is a fairly short trail but very steep with lots of steps. We immediately saw white-faced monkeys. I liked sitting in the fresh waterfalls that come down to the beach. We went on this trail again the next day and my legs were in better shape! We then went on the Creek Trail which went down to the creek and the 3 pools created by the waterfalls. That area is really pretty. We swam in the pools many times during our stay. The 3rd pool is about deep enough to jump into. Our son jumped off the rocks into the middle. The creek Trail goes by the canopy platform which we had no desire to do ? it is extremely short.

The next morning our son was signed up for surf lessons but the surf was not good that day so we went on the Primary Forest trail with Phillip. He is from Britain and has a degree I believe in Zoology/Geology. He is a wealth of knowledge. The hike took about 3 hours. We always enjoy doing hikes with knowledgeable guides as well as hiking on our own. Latter that day we went back to the Pacific Trail and Creek Trails again.

The next day we got up early and they had breakfast for us about 6:45 and then we left on at 7:15 to go on the dolphin tour. We shared the ride back to town with the couple we had initially ridden to Bosque with. The tour leaves from Pt. Jimenez. The R/T transfer is $50 ? however we got to split that with the other couple. Bosque packed us lunches in a soft-sided cooler. We stopped at the Bosque office in Pt. Jimenez and used the restrooms before we met the two boats that would take each family out. The cost for the 4 of us was $150. It was beautiful sunny day. You stay out 4 hours on the boat. We saw bottlenosed dolphins and spinner dolphins ? LOTS! The kids both saw spinner dolphins when they were being pulled behind the boat. You hold on to a board (kind of like a cutting board) that is on a rope. You wear a snorkel mask and push the front of the board down if you want to dive and look for dolphins. At times we would see a dozen spinner dolphins right around the boat. However, when you are in the water it is not so easy to see them because they may be swimming behind you and you may be looking the other way, etc. However, both kids saw them and you could here there exclamation of ?COOL? when they did! Our daughter said one was so close she could almost touch it. Even if you could not see them while being pulled behind the boat, you see them crystal clear in the bow of the boat as they skim right under and beside the bow. We also saw sea turtle and we went to a reef to snorkel. We did not snorkel long as having snorkeled a week in the Caymans this is nothing to compare. However, we did see some interesting fish and a sting ray. We ate our lunch out in the boat and shared it with our tour guide. The sandwiches that Bosque makes are huge so there is plenty to share. They even sent a lunch with us on our last day since we would not have dinner until that night at Vista del Valle. We left around 10:45 for our return flight to San Jose and they sent us a packed lunch in Ziploc bags ? sandwiches (loved their tuna and kids loved their peanut butter ? all on homemade bread along with fresh pineapple and homemade cookies).

That morning before we left for the dolphin tour, we packed up all our stuff and left it in the cabaña, and put our valuables in the office safe. When we got back from the dolphin tour, they had moved us to Casa Blanca house. WOW, WOW, WOW! What an incredible place! The view is breathtaking! We had other guests that we had met come by and go thru the house and they could not believe it. It is 2000 sq.ft., two bedrooms ? one with a king bed and the other with 2 queen beds, two full baths with an entire covered deck across the back with 2 hammocks, tables, lounge chairs, and a step-down sun deck. We only used the coffee maker as we still had all meals at the restaurant.

That night, the guys went with Phillip on the late night walk. It leaves at 8:30 and gets back around 10:30. They absolutely loved it. Phillip has special equipment (blacklight, etc) to see night activity. They turned in to Phillips?s little warriors, I called them, because every night after dinner on the way back to Casa Blanca we would have to ?eye shine? with our flashlights and hunt down critters.

The next morning I got up and was sitting on the back porch. The toucans landed in the tree right by the back deck. I counted 14 in all and you do not need binoculars. Also, howler monkeys came through right by the trees to the right of the house. We had parrots (which are normally very difficult to see because they are green like the leaves) come right up in the front tree in the afternoon on sit on some branches without leaves so I could see them well. We had scarlet macaws that loved the front and back tree. One day there were 4 pairs in those trees ? playing and making tons of racket. I brought out the kitchen chair and just sat in the front yard watching them for 45 minutes.

The third day the kids took surf lessons. A yoga group had come in and the surf instructor was taking 8 of them on a lesson. We were not too keen on the kids being in that big of a lesson so they offered our driver, Kevin, as an instructor. We had a few reservations about that because Kevin did not speak a whole lot of English but they offered it for only the board rental price of $25 each instead of $50 each. They said the best time for beginners is about 2 hours before low tide on the Pan Dolce Beach (which happened to be the same beach we had gone to when we were at Lapa Rios). They packed us a lunch and we hiked the Creek Trail to the Trogan Trail to the Golfe Dolce Trail to the Beach Access Road to Pan Dolce Beach (the third Beach). The first beach is Matapolo Beach (biggest, strongest waves), second beach is Backwash Beach, and last beach is Pan Dolce Beach. We thought Pan Dolce Beach was beautiful but were told the others were even prettier. If you go to Pan Dolce Beach and go to the right you can look back up at the top of the ridge and see the bungalows of Lapa Rios. Kevin was great and the kids learned fast and had fell in love with surfing. We live on a lake in Texas so they are used to water skiing and wakeboarding so I am sure that helped. Kevin stayed out with them for 2 full hours so they were wiped out for the rest of the day! Kevin had come with the surf boards in the Land Rover since we had hiked to the beach so we rode back with him ($10). We saw spider and howler monkeys on the way to the beach and one had a baby on its back that kept wanting to get off and play. If you hike to the beach, stop and get wet in the pools by the creek ? it will keep you cool on the hike to the beach.

The next day (4th full day) the kids wanted to surf again. So we hiked the Titi Trail (where squirrel monkeys had been sighted) but did not see any monkeys but saw a coati. That day at lunch our son spotted an iguana by the bar. Kevin took the kids and husband down to the beach after lunch along with the surfboards down to the beach and made arrangements to come back at 4:00 and pick them up. They were able to share rides both ways so it was $10 R/T. I caught a ride to the entrance of Lapa Rios with them and made a quick walk-thru to see if it looked the same after four years and Kevin picked me back up at the entrance to Lapa Rios on his way back from the beach. While they were surfing, I had an hour massage that was WONDERFUL! She did it on the back deck of our house. She brought a folding massage table, etc. You really hear the waves crashing at Casa Blanca so that made it even more relaxing.

The last day we had breakfast, took our time showering and packing and left around 10:45 for our 12:00 flight on Nature Air back to San Jose. We met some people from Bosque in the Int?l. airport the next day that had left Bosque and were doing all their return home in one day. They had left Bosque at 5:45 that morning, and we saw them in the Int?l. airport at 1:00. They were on their way back to Canada. However, we really liked the way we did it. We had a easy morning at Bosque before leaving to go back to Vista del Valle. Relaxed and had a wonderful dinner at Vista that evening and then did not have to leave for Int?l. airport until around 11:30 the next morning after a wonderful breakfast around 8:45 am. I felt like we were not rushing and had true relaxation.

OK ? we were ask to compare to Lapa Rios. First let me say ? we loved Lapa Rios ? every minute of it. Their food is 5-star at dinner in our opinion (or was 4 years ago). However, in booking this trip we considered two things ? mainly sleeping arrangements. Lapa Rios bungalows definitely have better views (except for Casa Blanca which is equivalent). However, they only have two double beds in each bungalow. The Casa Blanca house was a big draw for us. I wish we could have had it all five nights BUT La Palma was very nice too. However, Casa Blanca is hard to compare to anything. For us renting Casa Blanca with four people was the same as renting La Palma. Don?t get me wrong ? we loved La Palma too ? it was really nice. We think breakfast and lunches are equivalent at Lapa Rios but dinners don?t compare although the last night at Bosque was excellent. #1 ? I am not a fan of buffets. The Asian night was not anyone?s favorite and I let them know in my comments. However, Lapa Rios would have been $3000 for 5 nights for the four of us vs. $2000 at Bosque. If you had asked us at first we would have would have said Lapa Rios. But latter on we decided we were really probably judging unfairly because Lapa Rios had been our first trip to the Osa and that?s when we fell in love with the Osa and we were tying that to Lapa Rios. We saw tons of wildlife both places but nothing like we saw in the trees around Casa Blanca. What a treat. When the restaurant is finished, things will be much nicer at Bosque. It looks like it is going to be some pretty.

Another thing ? go up to the bar around 6:15 and have a drink and go meet other people and swap stories. That is when we really started to enjoy Bosque and got to know other people. I really liked that and that they sit you (unless you request private seating) at different tables with different people each night and we really liked that. So many interesting people from so many different places! Oh ? and every afternoon they sit our homemade cookies or muffins for you and the kids loved the smoothies at the bar ($2.50).

Well ? it think I have chapped arms from typing ? seriously! My trip report was this long 4 years ago too ? I guess I just love it so much! Be glad to answer any questions?

fae

I composed the above in Word. It appears that periods and "'" and dashes become question marks. Sorry - but knowing that hopefully you can make it out. I don't think I ever used question marks so they are probably periods or dashes.

shillmac

Your report transported me right back to Bosque del Cabo and the wonderful time we had there in July! So glad you liked it. I agree that when the construction is completed, Bosque will be greatly improved. Casa Blanca sounds lovely. We met people who were staying there (Golondrina, hello!), and they loved it too. Your family must have had a wonderful time! Isn't it nice to be able to relax a little and not have to rush to catch this or that flight? You planned your time very well!

fae

Yuck - what a hodge-podge of mistakes in typing and grammar! Sorry - next time I will proof more than running spellcheck before I post! Most embarrassing!

Also forgot to tell you about the cabanas in the Tropical Garden area. I personally would not want to stay there - Probably a 20-30 minute hike through pitch dark (at night) to get to meals at the restaurant. Plus it was muddy. Most people that stayed back there were only there one night and then got moved to another cabana. Seems as if everyone was moving rooms at least 2 -3 times but nobody seemed to mind. Great way to compare rooms! One couple was in garden, then standard cabana, then deluxe. Said they were glad they were going up in accommations vs. down. Some in the Yoga group that were in the garden area were not happy campers at all and the owner went to pick up his wife at the airport in San Jose and spend a couple of days in San Jose and he gave those unhappy campers his personal house to stay in! I call that customer satisfaction guaranteed because his house looks really NICE! It is right beside Casa Blanca.

Pumpy

Sounds like a wonderful trip. My wife, I and 2 kids/girls 6 & 11 are planning our trip to CR. I'm trying to decide how long and where to stay on the Osa leg of our trip. Originally I was planning on Drake Bay area (we definitely want to do Dolphin tour) but now not so sure. Do you think 4 nts in Osa is too long for kids my age? Also, did you ever go to Drake Bay area and/or how did you go about selecting the southern tip of Osa?
Thanks,

fae

Alot depends on your kids and what they like. Our kids have always been great outdoorsmen. The six year old may be a little young. Maybe someone else with a child that age will be able to answer that question better although our 13 was hiking on vacations in Colorado at that age if I recall correctly.

I originally selected the Osa four years ago for our first trip by reading numerous posts on fodors.com that told of all the places in Costa Rica that people went but their favorite was the Osa. Many said that when they returned that is where they would go. The couple from Michigan had been to two other places in Costa Rica before coming to Bosque and they comment that if they had it to do again they would come straight to Bosque.

I thought about spending a couple of nights at the new resort at Drake's Bay called Aguila de Osa Inn (www.aguiladeosa.com). However, they were all booked. They couple I met at Bosque that was on fodors.com were staying 3 nights at Bosque and then the driver at Bosque was driving them to Drake's Bay. Maybe she will post a report when she returns that can help you some. Her fodors name was Karenski. However, they did not have any children with them.

Your kids would love it though. Bosque has boogie boards you can use at the beach. We did that at Lapa Rios and the kids had a blast when they were younger. To me, the beach is just a bonus thrown in with the rainforest.

fae

One thing I forgot to tell you - we overpacked! Seems like most trails go to the Pacific or to the beach or to the waterfalls with pools that we ended up wearing our swimsuits most every day (I was glad I took Woolite to wash them out)along with our beach (water) shoes. So because we also wore mainly our water shoes to hike in we packed way too many socks. And because we hiked in swimsuits and board shorts we didn't need the ponchos or near as many shorts and t-shirts.

nancyrutherford

My husband, I, and our 2 teenage boys are staying in Casa Blanca in February. Your report got me so psyched. Thanks for the wonderful details. If you think of anything you would recommend packing, or supplies to buy on the way in let me know. Nancy Rutherford

cheeseygirl

Thanks for the great report! We are headed to Bosque in a few weeks, and even though we know it is going to be soggy we are excited. We were hoping to avoid having to take real hiking boots and all those extra pairs of socks, but i was concerned that the trails might be too steep and slippery. Could you navigate those trails OK in your aqua shoes? Do you think a hybrid hiking shoe/aqua sandal type thing (called Keens) would be sufficient? Also, are there deluxe cabinas in that garden area you spoke of? Hoping to avoid that part...we are staying in a deluxe cabina called manglillo. sounds like you had a great time though, and thanks again!

fae

You will definitely need good flashlights. It is pitch black walking back to Casa Blanca although the walk is just down the road until you cut through the front yard of Casa Blanca. The first night my husband went back to the house to get something and passed the house completely. We then found the coconut tree as a landmark that the house turn was next! The nights it was clear - we have never seen so many stars - Milky Way is so visible. Really cool.

fae

Cheeseygirl - We had no trouble at all on the trails in our water shoes and it was pretty muddy the first couple of days we were there because they had heavy rain the day before we got there and it rained all night the first two nights we were there. I think I would still take my hiking boots. We still wore them some. The water shoes made it easy to wash off the mud.

The two cabinas in the tropical garden are La Paz and Casa Teca so I don't think you will be in the garden - besides I don't think they would call any of those "Deluxe".

fae

Cheeseygirl,

My son said the cabina to the right of the one we stayed in for the first two nights, La Palma, is the one you will be in in Manglilo. The couple from Michigan in my trip report stayed in that cabina with their son. It is right down towards the ocean from the bar/restaurant - just about a 1 minute walk.

oleg

Thanks for your detailed, intelligent report. This will be my second trip to Osa. Went there last year, stayed in Casa Corcovado, fell in love with Osa... and stayed in love the whole year.
I will be in Bosque del Cabo December 1 thru 6. I asked Phil for standard cabin, but he said they only had Deluxe left. So, I went for Wood Deluxe. What do you think of their deluxe cabins? Do they have nice location/view?
Also, would you select Bosque if you were to travel alone?
Thanks.

Rick_B

Thank you for the detailed report. My wife and I will be at Bosque in less than two weeks now. I can't wait!

I have a feeling we are going to overpack as well--not weight-wise, but volume-wise. Everything we have is lightweight, but we have so much of it.

When you washed your clothes, did you find that they eventually dried? I've heard that even quick-drying clothes never dry in the Costa Rica dampness. Also, I've heard folks say you can never have too many pairs of socks and underwear, but you had a different experience with too many socks. I think we have about 6 pairs of socks each for a 12-day trip.

Is there anything you wished you had brought with you to Bosque that you didn't think to bring?

Thanks again for the report,
Rick

fae

I would not hesitate to stay alone at Bosque. We felt very safe there and they do not take non-guests at their restaurant.

All the cabinas are a very short walking distance to the restaurant/bar area. We were in a deluxe stucco and tile construction cabina. It was very nice. It overlooked the ocean - however not totally unobstructed by trees. We liked the view at Casa Blanca better because it is wide open ocean view. I heard the Conga cabinas had the best unobstructed view. However, the family from Michigan said they liked the trees because they saw wildlife in them so each to his own. I will be glad to email you my pictures of the cabina if you want to give me an e-mail address.

What is is about the Osa that gets to you? We have been on many nice vacations but none make me teary-eyed to leave especially the second time like the Osa!

shillmac

Rick,
Unlike Fae, we preferred to hike with tennis shoes and socks (mainly to protect from leaf cutter ants on the trails). We took a couple pair of socks each and needed one more pair for the 3 days we were there. We left our luggage at another hotel near San Jose and used a backpacks for our trip to the Osa because we traveled by bus, and the Osa was at the end of a 9 day bus adventure with a couple of other hotels on the way. We had the chance to do laundry in San Vito just before we arrived at Bosque del Cabo. Drying clothes is definitely a problem (especially shoes, so perhaps water shoes for hiking is a better idea). One day when it was particularly sunny, we washed out some things in the shower and laid them out to dry near our cabina in a sunny spot. That was the only time we managed to get our stuff completely dry. You can send your things to Puerto Jimenez to be laundered, so if you are staying for more than 3 days, you might want to consider that. I think you get them back the next day.

Also, I took a hairdryer (silly me). It was helpful while we were at Savegre (the first stop on our bus journey) because we used it to dry shoes and socks, but we weren't able to use it at Bosque because of the need to conserve electricity.

We were glad to have a small first aid kit.

Be sure you have repellent and flashlights. We had umbrellas with us because we had needed them earlier, but didn't really need them at Bosque. If it rains while you are hiking, the trees provide natural umbrellas.

oleg

Fae, thanks to your response. I was not worried about safety when I asked if it's OK to stay in Bosque alone. My issue really was if there's enough activity for 5 days to keep you from being bored.
As for teary eyes... I do love Osa because I love jungle. And it's so close - just about 4.5 hrs direct flight from NYC. But I only have tears in my eyes leaving Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. That is by far one the best eco-destinations in the world. But that's a different story and a different forum.

fae

oleg-

We spent a week last summer on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and loved it also. We spent time in Seward, Homer, and the Upper Kenai River staying at B&B's all the time. It was great.

As far as activities, you can probably finish up in 3 full days. However, we really enjoyed the 4th full day of the kids surfing again, massage, and rehiking some trails. Some people there were there for 7-8 nights but they were including excusions off the property.

shillmac

Fae and Oleg,
We, too, have spent time a couple of summers on the Kenai Peninsula. I share your love for this beautiful and majestic part of our country! It's right up there with Costa Rica and the Osa in natural wonders! Also, Oleg, I agree with Fae that you can thoroughly enjoy Bosque del Cabo in 3 days. We would have loved a 4th day there, but found that in 3 we were able to do the things we really wanted to do as well as having plenty of time to sit on the balcony of our cabina 2 or 3 times a day just enjoying the view. IMO, an entire week would have been too long.

oleg

fae and shillmac,
I am panning to arrive to Bosque 11/29 about noon. I will spend the balance of the day familiarizing myself with the surroundings, doing beach and a short hike. This will be day 1. On the second day, a long hike before lunch and the tree top after lunch, followed by massage. Third day I will do either kayak or boat tour before lunch and enjoy the beach or go to Casa Orchideas Botanical garden after noon. Day four will be devoted to horse ride and beach.
Day 5 (the last one) will be spent hiking and relaxing.
On a different note, it is amazing that both of you also traveled to Kenai and can appreciate the beauty of South Central Alaska. Do you remember Halibut Cove, Seldovia, float planes on Beluga Lake in Homer? I would spend my entire summer at the Spit, doing occasional raids accross Kachemak Bay to the beautiful State Park, Peterson Bay and over to numerous fiords. Uncompromized wilderness! Going back there next year. This time - to Katmai Nat. Park and Saddie Cove.