Una escapada de la ciudad de San Jose
Cinco horas de vuelo -- NY a San Jose. La primera noche pasamos en un lugar encantador con jardín interior (vegetación y una diversidad impresionante) a 15 minutos del aeropuerto - Hotel Brillasol (506) 2442 en La Alajuela. 70 USD. Dueños Luis Flores & Flor Lopez, info@hotelbrillasol.com. Desayuno incluido, típico gallo pinto con huevos fritos.
El día siguiente, camino a Guápiles. Al llegar, comida en Soda del Banco 2.500 colones p/p (free chocolates en la caja). Alojamiento en Casa Río Blanco +(506) 2710 4124, 70 USD/night (breakfast included). Hay cabinas en medio de la selva y cercano a un salto de agua. It's a place to go and lounge, read, relax, and swim in the quiet and secluded waterfalls. What we enjoyed most was sitting on our back porch, sipping wine, writing in our journals, chatting, and soaking up the sounds of the rainforest. Don't be surprised if you're visited by hummingbirds, electric blue butterflies and the sound of crickets.
Voluntariado con las tortuguitas en Ostional (2 semanas)
San Jose to Santa Cruz - 4 hour bus ride, then change buses to Ostional, with another 3 hour leg of the journey. Buses are bare bones and roads are bumpy... don't expect to sleep! Al llegar en Ostional, conocemos a nuestra familia: madre - Francis, padre - Randall, hijo Jero (un spiderman encarnado en un niño de 3 años), y hija, Fershi. Their house was once a B&B, open air, beach style. Views of the ocean are long reaching and outstanding. Well worth the somewhat slippery slope (covered with pebbles) up to the house.
The Ostional Station is where our daily work assignments were explained, with a variety of activities such as night patrols, beach cleanup, and hatchery building.
The Ostional Station is where our daily work assignments were explained, with a variety of activities such as night patrols, beach cleanup, and hatchery building.
El primer día vimos nuestra primera tortuga poniendo huevos y regresando al océano después de la rutina (digging, burying, pounding, and waddling back clumsily to the water). It's pretty magical how turtles instinctively find just the right spot, dig a hole by scooping sand with their flippers, flick the sand powerfully to cover the hole, and pound their powerful shells on the sand to create a firm and protective barrier for the hatchlings. If it weren't for the pesky Ostional Dog Pack who consistently hunts down these nests, they might have had a better chance of surviving (somewhat hypocritical -- volunteers come to work on a conservation project where the town's own dogs are a greater risk as predators than the natural ones, like seagulls and marine animals).
Our regular duty each day was to perform night patrols of four hours, looking for turtles laying their nests. We measured the size of the turtle, the hole she dug, how many eggs she laid, and how long it took her. This data was all gathered and sent to the University of Costa Rica for data collection purposes.
Favorite moments of patrol:
- Macdonal, one of the patrol leaders, climbing the coconut trees with a machete to cut down fresh "pipas" (coconuts).
- The day Antonio & Yeoudi faked having seen a baula (leatherback turtle) and Sara believed it. From then on (and as usual) Antonio was considered "the boy who cried wolf" and everyone learned that you can't take him seriously!
- We found a baby black turtle, injured, but we sent her off to sea.
- The night we watched the hatchlings make their way from their nests all the way to the sea (60-75 foot distance), just as the last one entered, a Lora (Olive Ridley) was just emerging and Antonio & I got a private showing of her nest laying.
- Y como podríamos olvidar los primeros "tags" de Antonino después de ser elegido como líder. Tuvo pesadillas en las que vió a las loras llorar, al situarles la placa más cerca del cuello que de la aleta.
Nuestros sitios y momentos preferidos
Guinoes & San JuanilloLos días transcurrieron entre Ostional y sus puestas de sol, Guiones y su espectacular playa surfera (y magníficos helados en Robin's Cafe Restaurant), y nuestra cala preferida en San Juanillo.
La Playa de San Juanillo is simply one of the best beaches you can find. Calita cerrada con vegetación a ambos lados y a 20 metros de la orilla. Aguas claras y un puñado de barquitos amarrados cerca de la orilla. Imprescindible la salida en barco para ver las tortugas Lora tomando el sol en la superficie, y con suerte, nadar con ellas.
Hicimos snorkeling con las tortugas y estuvimos a 20 cm de parejas apareándose. Es como el mejor documental de National Geographic en vivo y en directo. Preguntar por Eddy, $50/hora barco.
Para comer en San Juanillo, Hotel Playa San Juanillo (aceptable ceviche, pizzas regulares, cerveza barata 14.000 colones para dos personas). Mejor que en el hotel se puede comer en un sitio regentado por un egipcio, Ancient People. Delish fruit smoothies and decent food - the brownie sundae was the best we ordered there. Se puede comer por $15/person.
Playa Carrillo
A few hours from Ostional is a small beach town called Playa Carillo. The beach is long, narrow, and lined with palm trees (and a scary outlet of water where crocodiles may snap at you!). With plans to head to a midrange hotel/hostal we ended up in front of a fancier hotel by accident, Guanamar Hotel. Antonio in all of his bargaining glory got us a $135 room for $80... sea views, private large balcony. Good food at the hotel, but there's also a soda up the road, with surfer decor, that has really great burgers.
Nuestro viaje descubriendo la costa
Rincon de la Vieja
Our coastal journey started up in Rincon de la Vieja at Rinconcito Lodge, $70/double room, breakfast included, dinner is $15 at the restaurant, tours +/- $70 with lunch. Don't miss the wonderful tours they offer. Ours included horseback riding (beloved Golondrino, Tractor, Chocolate, and Kiko), some thrilling zip lining through the canopy (7 cables), and a 5 hour hike with a relaxing stop off at some sulfery hot springs. We must have come across 15 different species of butterflies along the way, as well as learned about the Matapalo, a parasite that grows from the tops of the trees and grows down to the roots, slowly strangling the host tree. We finished off by taking our horses back down to the lodge... a very complete and action filled day.
Another enjoyable hike can be done at "Las Pailas" (the Cauldrons), walking around the fumaroles, clay colored bubbling pools of volcanic mud. Hoping to hike up to the summit, Santa Maria, we headed off on the 3+ mile hike, only to find that we'd never make it due to poorly marked trails. After climbing and descending, hemming and hawing, and with only the electric blue butterflies to consult, we had to turn around, because the trail became increasingly narrow and overgrown. We practically had to run to make it back to our lodge before dark, and when we arrived after sprinting down a hill covered in little rocks, we were greeted by one of the lodge workers, about to come out to look for us.
Rincon de la Vieja is a great place to seek adventure, nature, and solitude. It's not as frequently visited as some of the larger parks, like Arenal, which makes it a bit more appealing.
Liberia
We decided to get a rental car in Liberia, which is not a city to spend time in, but a good hub in the north for transportation and for supermarkets...stock up! With Thrifty Rental Car, we were able to rent for 5 days for $290, full cover insurance. As with everything, try to negotiate the price for your rental. In Costa Rica the way rental prices climb and fall based on the day is astounding, so make sure the bottom line is clear.
Monteverde
Drawn in by the desire to explore the surrounding forest, we took a trip to Selvatura to walk what ended up being mediocre hanging bridges and an overpopulated hummingbird garden (overpopulated by people that is). It was a bit too artificial and crowded for our taste. Nothing like the trails of Rincon de la Vieja. Vuelta a Vista Verde y excursión al salto de agua accesible desde el hotel, 30 minutos de peligroso descensco acompañados por el perro de allí. La catarata merece la pena...no había ni un alma.
On our way out we stopped at Eulogio's family run coffee shop where they produce their own coffee. He gave us a tour to explain the steps of coffee production. Then we ate at Pizzería Johhny ($25/person), great pizza and decent wifi access.
Esterillos Este
Carretera y monte hacia Esterillos Este, estancia de una noche en Pelicano. Great views, no one on the beach, jacuzzi temperature in the pool, superb ceviche, private dinner in our own little gazebo. On our way out, we visited Esterillos Oeste to visit my former colleague, Don Cooper, where we came across fishermen on the beach with their latest catch of baby sharks.
On the way south, we passed through Jacó just to see what all the hype was about... unfinished apartment complexes, big hotels, a busy downtown, and an uninviting beach. NOT worth it. The surrounding towns, like Esterillos, are much more picturesque and pleasant.
Hatillo
Instead of heading straight for Dominical, we opted for a smaller town, Hatillo, just 20 km north. Our little B&B Alma de Hatillo, $55/night with breakfast of homemade jams - fruits and chocolate from the grounds). Sweet Polish Sabina was proud of her labor and encouraged us to enjoy all the compound could offer -- including some unfinished and poorly marked trails. Our hand drawn map gave us some indication of where to go, and led us down trails of venomous-looking spiders (thought they weren't as deadly as we thought, we later learned).
We visited Punta Ballena, which is probably more spectacular from a birdseye view (you can actually see the whale's tale from there). Palm tree lined beach made for an enjoyable day of reading and napping. On the way back to Hatillo, we stopped in Dominical. It's a complete surfer's town filled with little restaurants and cafes. Worth having lunch, a beer, coffee, and/or a walk around.
Our last night with Sabina she prepared us a quaint and delicious dinner, family style, of bass, beans, whole grain rice, and salad with fresh avocado and tomatoes.
We visited Punta Ballena, which is probably more spectacular from a birdseye view (you can actually see the whale's tale from there). Palm tree lined beach made for an enjoyable day of reading and napping. On the way back to Hatillo, we stopped in Dominical. It's a complete surfer's town filled with little restaurants and cafes. Worth having lunch, a beer, coffee, and/or a walk around.
Our last night with Sabina she prepared us a quaint and delicious dinner, family style, of bass, beans, whole grain rice, and salad with fresh avocado and tomatoes.
Osa Peninsula
If I were to recommend one place in Costa Rica that you must not miss, it would definitely be Osa. It's the only part of the country that is still somewhat untouched.
Our journey down to the Osa began with a stopover in Quepos to return our rental car. From their our shuttle driver was to pick us up to get us to our bus in Palmar Norte. Since he was 20 minutes late, we missed our connecting bus. Our shuttle driver then paid a taxi driver to catch up to the bus. Driving at what seemed to be top speed, 20 minutes later, and almost convinced we'd never reach them, we finally spotted our bus pulled over at a gas station where Antonio proceeded to make comments of what a lead foot the bus driver had. What could have been an argument was artfully turned into the beginning of a friendship by Sr. Garcés. Shortly thereafter, the bus driver put on some Spanish music for Antonino, of course.
Puerto Jiménez acts as a transfer point for the eastern side of the Osa Peninsula. We decided to head down to Cabo Matapalo to settle in for a few days. Before you leave Puerto Jiménez, make sure to take out enough money to last for the duration of your stay. There are no ATMs in Cabo Matapalo!
Hopping in the back of a pickup truck with benches in the back, we bounced and bumped our way down the dirt road that lead further south. Finding a little piece of paradise at Ojo del Mar, $90/double cabin, we spent four nights in this tranquil eco-lodge. Owner, Nico, prepares all of the delicious meals herself - agrotourism at it's best. Since there aren't many options for food around, we ate the majority of our meals at the lodge. Having no electricity in our cabins, and sleeping in open air cabins really helps disconnect. While some days were spent laying in hammocks reading, or strolling along the beach, we also did a bit of exploring.
When asked where to go for an adventurous day, we were immediately recommended to Andy at Psycho Tours. He's the Crocodile Dundee/Bear Grylls of Costa Rica, picking up boa constrictors in his backyard and eating termites (Which we also did! They taste like pine nuts). We hiked through the forest and up some waterfalls to one of the biggest matapalos (strangler figs) in Costa Rica. All harnessed in, we scaled 80 feet up the tree and jumped off one of high branches performing our own versions of Cirque du Soleil.
Corcovado National Park is the reason most people come down to the Osa. National Geographic calls it "the most biologically intense place on earth." Though we had big plans of camping out in the park, the timing didn't work out. But, don't make the same mistake. Call the Osa Conservation Area Headquarters 2735-55800 ahead of time to make reservations for camping or cabins. Although I'm weary about paying for guides at times, it's worth the money in these parts. We saw everything from anteaters to scarlet macaws to dart frogs. The winding trails that guide you through the forest, right alongside the beach, are beautiful.
Our journey down to the Osa began with a stopover in Quepos to return our rental car. From their our shuttle driver was to pick us up to get us to our bus in Palmar Norte. Since he was 20 minutes late, we missed our connecting bus. Our shuttle driver then paid a taxi driver to catch up to the bus. Driving at what seemed to be top speed, 20 minutes later, and almost convinced we'd never reach them, we finally spotted our bus pulled over at a gas station where Antonio proceeded to make comments of what a lead foot the bus driver had. What could have been an argument was artfully turned into the beginning of a friendship by Sr. Garcés. Shortly thereafter, the bus driver put on some Spanish music for Antonino, of course.
Puerto Jiménez acts as a transfer point for the eastern side of the Osa Peninsula. We decided to head down to Cabo Matapalo to settle in for a few days. Before you leave Puerto Jiménez, make sure to take out enough money to last for the duration of your stay. There are no ATMs in Cabo Matapalo!
Hopping in the back of a pickup truck with benches in the back, we bounced and bumped our way down the dirt road that lead further south. Finding a little piece of paradise at Ojo del Mar, $90/double cabin, we spent four nights in this tranquil eco-lodge. Owner, Nico, prepares all of the delicious meals herself - agrotourism at it's best. Since there aren't many options for food around, we ate the majority of our meals at the lodge. Having no electricity in our cabins, and sleeping in open air cabins really helps disconnect. While some days were spent laying in hammocks reading, or strolling along the beach, we also did a bit of exploring.
When asked where to go for an adventurous day, we were immediately recommended to Andy at Psycho Tours. He's the Crocodile Dundee/Bear Grylls of Costa Rica, picking up boa constrictors in his backyard and eating termites (Which we also did! They taste like pine nuts). We hiked through the forest and up some waterfalls to one of the biggest matapalos (strangler figs) in Costa Rica. All harnessed in, we scaled 80 feet up the tree and jumped off one of high branches performing our own versions of Cirque du Soleil.
Corcovado National Park is the reason most people come down to the Osa. National Geographic calls it "the most biologically intense place on earth." Though we had big plans of camping out in the park, the timing didn't work out. But, don't make the same mistake. Call the Osa Conservation Area Headquarters 2735-55800 ahead of time to make reservations for camping or cabins. Although I'm weary about paying for guides at times, it's worth the money in these parts. We saw everything from anteaters to scarlet macaws to dart frogs. The winding trails that guide you through the forest, right alongside the beach, are beautiful.
Though we had originally planned to spend more time in our next destination, Bahía Drake, we only ended up there for one night at El Mirador Lodge, $50/person including 3 meals. Find your way through the forest trails toward Playa Cocalito - great waves and beautiful beach. You can fly out of Drake Bay back to San Jose for about $100, which can save hours and hours of bumpy bus time.
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