Blogs from Osa Peninsula, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

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The boat arrive to Drake Bay. No dock, so you need to walk barefoot in the sea to reach the coast. This adds to the experience. :-) Drake Bay village is not compact as many little hills and ravines are interspersed all over the place. Our transport brought us inland in Los Planes little village, close to one of corcovado's entrance. We rented a small hut, directly beside the forest. Gardens are splendid and full of birds!! I also saw tapir's tracks near my hut. They sometimes come in the night to graze on some of the plants garden's. One thing I noticed is the abundance of big birds like toucans and macaws which you can see and hear all day. I got good shots of toucans. For the macaws, it's a bit different: they are ... read more
tamandua
female tapir and young
spider monkey


After 2 years, the covid pandemic was slowing down. Here in Canada, with the start of school year, and the weather getting colder, cases are on the rise. Good news is that the severity of cases is rarely severe, especially if vaccinated. We then, decided to travel abroad, but not too far at this point, avoiding connection flights. From where I live, I checked the direct flights. Decision was made to return to Costa Rica, my little paradise, and concentrate on South Pacific Coast, a section of the country I visited very briefly, 16 years ago. I especially wanted to visit Osa peninsula and Corcovado national park. In this park, many rarer animals, can be seen. I stayed 6 days on Osa peninsula and wasn't deceived, but more on that later. :-) Next stops, would be ... read more
Street in San Jose near the bus terminal
Cute frog near my hotel window in sierpe
Heron just beside my bathroom window


I heard of Bolita from other travelers who had been there. As I was considering going to Corcovado National Park, they suggested Bolita as an alternative, a hostel inside a primary rainforest, accessed from Puerto Jimenez. What attracted me to Bolita (apart from traveler reviews) was this was an individual effort at conservation and it's remoteness. To get to Bolita (and to return from it), you have to stay in Puerto Jimenez one night each way (unless you are comfortable hiking in a rainforest in the night, I met a guy who actually did that). Puerto Jimenez is mostly a transit town, but like many places in Costa Rica, it boasts of brilliant sunsets. To go to Bolita, the first thing is to pack stuff you need into a small bag (the hike is short but ... read more
Puerto Jimenez Sunset
Bolita Sunrise
Bolita


It’s our third and final day in Puerto Jiménez. I’m not sure if I love or hate it here, but with hindsight, two days would have sufficed. The all pervasive dust is giving me a sore throat and headache. I’ve done a lateral flow test as I know a sore throat can be a symptom of Covid. It’s a test I brought with me – there are no medical facilities in Puerto Jiménez. In fact, the welcome pack in our room suggests that in the event of an emergency, we contact the vet! Yes really. The first night I felt unwell and took a covid test (which was negative), but the next day it subsided. The next night, the same happened, only worse. I assume it must be because the room smells of mould. We get ... read more
My spot on the balcony
Macaws
Macaws


I awake at 6 am – rush hour in Puerto Jiménez as planes and 4x4s ferry visitors towards the National Park. I get up and prepare breakfast; as we have a kitchenette, I’m going to have a go at cooking plantain. At least, I think it’s plantain – as the Spanish for plantain is plátano, and the Spanish for banana is also plátano, there’s a 50% chance I’m cooking plantain. We don’t have much planned for today; we have aborted our original plan to visit Corcovado National Park as it would have cost $85 each for the opportunity of a long off road drive (check) to hike for several hours in the heat and humidity (check) to possibly see some wild animals (check). So instead, a quiet morning. The old man plays candy crush while I ... read more
Almonds for breakfast
Making friends at the pool
Warning sign of the day


Today we have a 135 mile drive south to Puerto Jiménez. It’s mostly a straight run down the Pacific Highway, then we turn off onto the Osa Peninsula and basically drive until we run out of tarmac. As today’s journey is predominantly just one road, it’s not the most interesting drive. And we don’t even need my expert navigational skills! We pass through mile after mile of palm plantations with the occasional palm oil refinery belching black smoke into the atmosphere. The further south we go, the narrower the road gets and the old man drives closer to the edge than I’d prefer. I spend the journey leaning to the left as if this will somehow affect the car’s balance if we get too close to the ditch. Finally, after 90 miles, we turn off the ... read more
Pacific highway
Drive to Puerto Jiménez
Cabinas Jiménez


Nach einem Zwischenstopp von 2 Nächten in San José, der Hauptstadt von Costa Rica, wo ich endlich eine neue Brille gekauft habe (ich hatte meine 2 Monate vorher in Mexiko in einem Bus vergessen), sind Rebecka und ich am Montag, den 30. April, um 6h morgens mit dem Bus nach Puerto Jimenez gefahren. Der Bus war relativ bequem und wir machten ein paar Pausen während unserer 9-stündigen Fahrt, aber am Ende waren wir doch froh, als wir endlich ankamen. Vom Busterminal zu unserem Hostel, Corcovado Wild Hostel, nahmen wir ein Taxi, denn es regnete ziemlich stark und wir hatten keine Lust komplett nass zu werden. Im Hostel mussten wir dann eine halbe Stunde warten bis der Besitzer, Christian, zurückkam. Er hatte eine Tagestour durch den Corcovado Nationalpark geführt. Er war sehr freundlich, hat uns das Hostel ... read more
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Last week we went from San José to Corcovado National Park. It is quite difficult to find good and recent information online about how to get there, but it’s quite easy. You have two choices : either you go to Drake Bay and take a ferry from there to Corcovado National Park or you go to Puerto Jimenez and take a shuttle to the park. What we did was the following : at Atlántico Norte bus station in San José, we took the 6AM Bus to Puerto Jimenez. It costs only 8000 Colones (= 14$US or 12€) and takes about 8 to 9 hours to get there. The bus is very comfortable and stops about every 1 1/2 or 2 hours either for a short pee-stop or for a lunch stop. It’s quite fast and cheap, ... read more


Letzte Woche sind wir von San José zum Corcovado Nationalpark gefahren. Es ist relativ schwierig online gute und aktuelle Informationen über diesen Park zu finden und dazu wie man dorthin kommt. Tatsächlich ist es ganz einfach. Man hat 2 Möglichkeiten : entweder man fährt nach Drake Bay und man nimmt von dort aus ein Boot zum Corcovado Nationalparkt oder man fährt nach Puerto Jimenez und nimmt von dort aus ein Shuttle zum Park. Wir haben folgendes gemacht : am Busterminal von Atlántico Norte in San José haben wir um 6h morgens einen Bus nach Puerto Jimenez genommen. Der kostet nur 8000 Colones (= 14$US oder 12€) und die Fahrt dauert nur 8 oder 9 Stunden. Der Bus ist sehr bequem und stoppt alle 1 1/2 oder 2 Stunden mal, entweder für eine kurze Pipi-Pause oder für ... read more


Lapa Rios - rediscovering the child from within!You know when I research where to stay I read a lot of trip advisor , blogs and so on and so on.. but if someone would ask me where to go in Costa Rica i would tell them - that if you only have enough time for one place - this is the place to go . Lapa is the Spanish name for the macaw while rio is the word for river. The owners John and Karen first visited the future home of the ecolodge, they witnessed a number of majestic scarlet macaws flying across the jungle, appearing to form a river of red above the canopy.... read more
howler monkey - the sound of horror
jeff and Edwin
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