Il Corcovado

Good morning!

On Saturday morning, after a great breakfast with almost the whole family and a few dogs and ponies, then more dogs, we went to meet our new friends Martina and Roland. They emigrated to Costa Rica 1.5 years ago and spent 2 hours showing us their impressive property on the slope (2.2 hectares, lots of fruit trees, and permaculture) and answering many questions about Costa Rica.

We underestimated the trip to the Osa Peninsula because the distance on the map was less than 100 km. But when we put it into the GPS, it said it would take 4.5 hours 😳. Martina and Roland strongly advised us against driving to the lodge by car and suggested taking the taxi boat from Sierpe instead. There are only 2 boats per day, and the first one had already left, so we had to hurry.

We arrived on time and found the right guy who pointed us to a "guarded" parking spot (I wonder if everything will still be there when we come back).

And then, while waiting for the taxi boat, the daily monsoon started right on time. Tico Time... we were supposed to leave at 3:30. But here you have to add an hour, and I've been told that if it ends up being 2 hours, it's still within range 😅

When we finally left at 4:45 pm, we were excited about the boat tour that took us through the mangroves for an hour and later along the coast. We hoped to see crocodiles, but we weren't rewarded yet. Somewhere on a deserted beach, the captain dropped us off. There are no docks here, so we had to walk through the water 😂 and he said, "Don't worry, someone will come to help us with the luggage. It's only a 10-15 minute walk." Hm... unfortunately, no one knew about our arrival by boat. I had sent an email to the lodge, but I mentioned that we would be coming by car 🙈. Then we met a nice young man on the beach who turned out to be the cousin of our lodge owner. He made a call somewhere, and 5 minutes later, two boys about 13 and 15 years old came and took our bags. The hike in the jungle was adventurous. There's no other way to describe it. Through a "village," across streams, and along forest trails. I said a prayer, "Please, please let this end well 🙏🏼."

When we finally arrived at the top... well, no one was there 😂

After 3 minutes and a phone call, a totally exuberant and friendly Tico emerged from the jungle to greet us.

We were the only guests at the lodge. It consists of three cabins and a fourth one in the middle, where the owner lives with his family and dogs. The mother is the cook (by the way, the best food we've had so far). After showing us our cabin, there was already dinner, and we got into a conversation. Great people here. Everywhere! Open, hospitable, kind, relaxed. Then he booked a tour for us today through the Corcovado National Park. With another phone call to another cousin 😂

As he said, everyone here on the slope is either related or married. It's a big family here.

Then it was time to go to bed because breakfast was scheduled for 5:20 am.

We left at 6:00 am. Guillermo took us to the boat. First, we had to take a 1.20-hour boat ride to Corcovado. But we didn't need to go there to see the first animals. We saw a humpback whale mom and her baby 🐋. The whale migration takes place here from June to September. This means that the whales from the south come to Central America to give birth to their babies and then swim back. And right at the beginning, we were lucky enough to see some.

Then we went from the boat to the national park. First, the ranger gave us instructions, and then our backpacks were checked. Bringing food is prohibited, and they take it very seriously. Under no circumstances are the animals allowed to be fed or touched.

And that's a good thing. The tour lasted about 5 hours. There were 10 people plus a guide. And it was absolutely amazing. I still can't believe my luck. We got to see soooooo many animals in their natural habitat, in complete freedom. Each guide there had a telescope so that you could also see the birds high up, like the macaws, monkeys, and sloths. The picture of the large crocodile was also taken through the telescope. The caimans, however, were not even a meter away from my feet 😅. It was incredibly beautiful. After a way too short 5 hours, but stinky and sweaty, we were brought back, this time without whale watching. But at the beach, 4 macaws and 3 toucans greeted us. 😍 After a quick bite to eat, we headed back through the jungle to the beach. If someone was looking for paradise, I found it. Just us alone on a beach where even Robinson Crusoe would feel comfortable. I tried to spot whales again because yesterday and this morning, whales were seen from the beach, but I was not lucky. I'll try again tomorrow.

We love it here so much that we spontaneously decided to extend our stay for one more night and will be here again tomorrow. After that, we will go to Uvita, which is far away from here but home to one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, and we will try glamping. It's almost like camping but with a fixed tent and a bathroom. So it's more like a bungalow with tent walls: you know, I'll report on it 😅

Oh, and I forgot something. During the hike through the mud today, I fell and got stuck in a plant with quite large thorns. They were stuck in my hand and my entire arm. I managed to remove most of them when we got back, but everything is still quite red and it hurts here and there. Prayers that it doesn't get infected are welcome 🙏🏼👍🏼❤️