Stage One: Puerto Jiménez (Oct 9th until Oct 13th)

It was a really good decision to fly down to Puerto Jiménez. Really. No rushing through San José, no 8 hour+ bus drive, no bad roads, nothing. And I'll surely do the same next time I come here. 7 people on the plane, only locals. After 40 minutes we had a short layover in Drake Bay which is already situated on the Osa peninsula and then we continued to PJ for another 20. A beautiful scenery to see the rain forest of Corcovado National Park and the coastlines from high above.

When I arrived at the airport I felt a little lost cause everybody was gone in an instant except for me and 2 cab drivers. Which was kind of weird in a funny way. So I decided to make a little trip around downtown Puerto Jiménez with one of them. Didn't take us long cause there is only one main street anyway. I had looked up some recommendations in the travel guide but the best looking spot was one recommended by a friend of mine: the Cabinas Jiménez. A nice little guest house by the sea run by an american guy called John. And yeah, it has a pool, too. :)

Upon arrival and after I had my first pipa (coconut) I told them I'd need a guide for Corcovado and they sent someone in the same evening. His name is Roger Munos and I can tell you he's highly recommendable. I have met quite a few guides in my life and just by talking to him the impression I got was great and it was to be confirmed when we went out to the Corcovado National Park the next day. We were accompanied by an Israelian couple and they offered to take their 4x4 rental car. And what a ride it was. I have seen many bad roads in my life but this was by far the worst. No, not a road: the term "pot hole-mania" suits it much better. We had to cross several rivers which luckily weren't that deep so after a 3 hours drive we had managed to make the 42kms(!) to Carate. From there we had to walk the last 3 kms along the beach front. We passed by La Leona Eco-Lodge and I took a look at one of the most amazing arrangements I stumpled upon in Costa Rica so far. Situated right at the pacific coast beach with only rain forest surrounding it. I talked to the owner's son and after just a few minutes I had made my decision where to stay next after Puerto Jiménez.

Then we went to the park and what a hike it was! Spider-, howler- and capuchin monkeys, squirrels, aras (macaos), eagles, falcons, hawks, herons, ibises, poison dart frogs, iguanas, anoles, agamas, bugs, wasps, spiders and red crabs all over the place. Just like last year, only a little more intense. :) What a great, mind-blowing environment even though we didn't see a cat which I am so eager to encounter! What a good decision to hire a guide especially because Roger can pinpoint things so unbelievably precise.

So after a six hour hike we went back to PJ again. We made several stops along the road to watch parrots, monkeys and a sloth. Back in PJ we had dinner at a soda, a mini restaurant where you can get food at a very resonable price. The next day was to chill and recover from the rather exhausting hike with all my camera gear. An aching back and sore muscles are the down side, but hey...it's worth it. So I did some kayaking through the mangroves with a dutch couple I met at the guest house. At dusk Kenneth, a tico (local) took us for a short walk to the mangrove forest to show us a few caymans and crocodiles. We then had dinner at his restaurant and called it quits cause we were supposed to go on a whale and dolphin watching tour the next day.

Well. Boat trips in Costa Rica are something special, I can tell you. We managed to get Charly, a tico and supposedly a local tour operator who was willing to take just the three of us out while the other two companies wanted a minimum of four to five people. We would later find out why. Anyway...we saw several humpback whales, some were accompanied by their young and it was beautiful to see those massive creatures move so elegantly through the water. I felt an urge to jump in and get closer but the two guys leading the tour got really nervous so I decided to spare them the trouble. :)

After 2,5 hours they told us we'd try to find dolphins now and headed back to the direction of the PJ pier. so after another 40 minutes they said that they are sorry but that the tour would be over now. Which means that the tour we were supposed to go on for 5 hours finished after a little more than 3. What a turn-off, I can tell you. To make a long story short: after they were threatening to call the police and a bothering discussion at the tourist office we paid 50 instead of 60 bucks. We told them to think ahead before they try to rip tourists off next time. A bad choice in times of online reviews and their possible impact on a business. The aftertaste was still really bitter.

So in the afternoon I took daylight pictures of the crocodiles and caymans we had seen the night before and I really, really realized that I need to pay more attention to these guys next time I am close to them because while I was distracted by mosquitos one came crawling straight at me until our distance was far less than comfortable. Nothing happened but it was a lesson learned that day.

Right after this mini adventure I went to meet Kenneth again at Las Palmas hotel. He, like everybody else in town was watching the soccer world cup qualification game of El Salvador vs. Costa Rica which was eventually won 1:0 by CR. I had a delicious papaya shake and casado con pollo, the national dish containing rice, beans and chicken plus some yuca, a root that tastes a little like potato. Very tasty but fried like most of the other stuff. With all the greasy food they serve here I really wonder how the guys can stay in shape as most of them do. Amazing. :)

That basically concluded my last day in PJ cause on the next I would take off to La Leona Lodge with Roger in the so called "collectivo", a local transport. Take off at 6am. And I can tell you: that's when the real adventure started.


Just in case you are interested: here's a link to the pictures I took during those 3 days.