Costa Rica - Pura Vida! Drake Bay & Corcovado National Park

We traveled from Manuel Antonio National Park to our last destination: Drake Bay. We wanted to visit Corcovado National Park. We settled down in the 'Murillo Cabina'. A great accommodation! A small cabina with a private bathroom and a balcony overlooking the sea. By the way, we are back on the Pacific side here. Breakfast is also available here. You can cook your own meals in the public kitchen. We did that quite often.

One day, my friend really wanted to go diving (I didn't have a diving license yet). So we went looking for a diving base. We decided on the 'Drake Divers'. So we went on a day trip with the dive guides and their boat. My friend did 2-3 dives during that time. I went snorkeling. Drake Bay is known for its many sharks. I even saw a small shark on the seabed while snorkeling. It was an absolute highlight for me. Many sharks were discovered while diving. Exactly what my friend wanted. Everyone was satisfied.

On the same day, we went on a night walk. There were four of us + a guide. It was perfect. The other couple was very similar to us. Wanting to see as much as possible and take good photos. We walked through the rainforest for a long time and saw many species of animals. You can see for yourself in the pictures. By the way, we booked the night walk through our accommodation. Each of us got rubber boots from the guide because we also walked through rivers. This night walk was simply amazing.

The next day, we did something relaxing: a floating tour. This tour was brand new at that time. We were picked up on a quad and driven into the rainforest. We did the tour alone with a female guide, and her little son was with us too. First, we walked through the rainforest for a while. Then we reached a river. Here we were given inner tubes. And then it started. We let ourselves drift down the whole river in the inner tubes. It was really relaxing. And the river was quite long. The woman and her son joined us, of course. She put our clothes in her waterproof backpack. It was definitely a cool tour.

Now we come to the absolute highlight! CORCOVADO National Park. We really wanted to stay in the park. We asked for information at our accommodation and got a great offer. We had the choice to cook something for ourselves for the 2 days and then take care of ourselves. Or the guide could bring food for the 2 days for the two of us (which is considerably more expensive). But we didn't want the latter. We cooked something for ourselves for the 2 days. And we brought all the drinks ourselves. We simply cooked a big portion of rice with tomato sauce and took small snacks like cookies and fruit. That was totally enough. Just don't bring anything that can melt :D. You can either do the tour alone with the guide or in a group. For us, it was clear that we wanted to do it alone with the guide. The day before we started, our guide came to our accommodation and discussed everything with us again. The guide's name was Everest. And he was great! He told us what we needed and what we had to bring. We stayed overnight at the Sirena Station. Here, there is an elevated sleeping platform. You sleep on a thin mattress. Our guide brought bedding for us. And a mosquito net was spanned over the mattress. We didn't need anything else. Showers and toilets were on the other side of the station, very close to the rainforest. Here, you should be especially careful of snakes. They like to visit the sanitary facilities.

In the early morning, we were picked up and taken by boat to the national park. The Sirena Station is not far from the sea. We first put down our belongings here. Then we started with our guide. We walked through the national park until it got dark. We took a longer break at a small river where we also went swimming to cool off. We had a little something to eat and then continued. We saw so many animals and insects. You can't imagine it. We even saw a tapir. And they are not easy to find. We also saw all 4 monkey species of Costa Rica: howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, and squirrel monkeys. There were many insects, even giant grasshoppers. We saw a coati, many bird species, crocodiles, bats, hermit crabs, parrots, wild boars, and anteaters. I hope I didn't forget any animals :D. We didn't see that many animals in any other national park in Costa Rica. On the same day, we saw the paw print of a puma in the sand. Our guide really wanted to find the puma. And of course, we did too :D. So we went looking for it. Of course, we didn't find it. The puma is hardly ever seen in the national park. Our guide has been doing this job for a long time and has only found the puma 3 times in his life in the park. The puma is a very shy animal. The most dangerous animal in Corcovado National Park is actually the wild boar. No joke! If they chase after you, you better find a tree to climb up quickly :D. That was one of the first things the guide told us. Especially during mating season or when the wild boars have young. Then you should be especially careful. The day was coming to an end and we went back to the station. We had something to eat and then went to bed early. The next morning, we got up at around 5:00 am and continued at around 6:00 am. You can't sleep longer there either because the howler monkeys wake you up with their 'roars'. On the second day, we walked through the rainforest for about half a day. Still following the tracks of the puma. Another group had apparently seen the puma yesterday on the coast. So, of course, we went there too. The day was almost over and we actually had to go back to the boat. And then it happened. Our guide actually spotted the puma. He immediately led us into the rainforest and we crouched behind a bush. The puma was lying there and had also seen us. The guide said it was still a young one. That's why it didn't run away. Young animals are very curious. It was simply perfect! We saw all the animals of Corcovado National Park. And our guide was even more excited than we were :D. He said he would have a drink to celebrate tonight. It was really nice to see how much he enjoyed everything. You could really tell how much fun he had. I can only recommend Everest as a guide. He never gave up searching for the puma. And he who seeks will find :P.

That's how our 4-week backpacking trip came to an end. On the same day, we drove back to San José. It was a very long way! We arrived at the car rental station late at night at 9 pm. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a hotel anymore. So we slept in the car for the last night. The next morning, we flew back to Germany.