August 5, 2012
Osa Peninsula, Costa
Rica
We arrived here yesterday afternoon for a short vacation and
have been steadily taking in the rich biodiversity of our surroundings. Our
flight from San Jose (on Sansa Air) was in a small jet that went in and out of
clouds and rain, and gave us intermittent views of the Central Highlands and
the Pacific Coast. As we neared the Osa Peninsula (in the southwestern corner
of Costa Rica) and moved away from the mountain range in the center of the
country, we could see the vast expanses of forest and the sinuous paths of
numerous rivers emerging from the rainforests that dot this region. We landed
in Puerto Jimenez, which is a small town with a single airstrip that probably mostly
serves to shepherd tourists to Osa, since traveling here by road is treacherous
and slow and requires all-terrain vehicles and good driving skills. We downed
fresh coconut juice, had a look at several toucans and scarlet macaws, and then
piled into an SUV with another French couple who were making their second trip
to the Peninsula and were headed to the same eco-lodge we had selected.
In fact, Lapa Rios is probably the best-known eco-lodge in
this area, and is the only one that has achieved the highest rating for
sustainability in the area. We booked it following an enthusiastic
recommendation from one of Marc’s colleagues even though it represents
something of a splurge. Upon arriving here and spending a bit of time
exploring, we can begin to understand why. The staff of 40+ people is nearly as
large as the number of guests who can stay in the lodge’s 16 cabins. Moreover,
the grounds of Lapa Rios cover 1000 acres and hold a number of very
well-maintained hiking trails that range in difficulty and traverse both
primary and secondary forests that hold rivers, terrific vistas over the Golfo
Dulce and the Pacific, a number of waterfalls, and easy access to a number of
beaches (though the latter are admittedly a bit rough). Within minutes of
driving over the river that marks the southern boundary of the resort, we
spotted spider monkeys crossing the road in the trees above. And as soon as we
arrived we also experienced another of the things Lapa Rios is famous for: food
and stunning, yet simple and “low footprint” accommodations. We had a decadent
lunch of lime and cucumber soup followed by pork belly with rice and avocado
and Costa Rican salsa (for Marc) and a light gazpacho soup and portabello
mushroom pasta dish (for Shuwen). Then, after stopping to watch a bright-billed
toucan for some 15 minutes and deciding that those birds are much more
beautiful than the sounds they generate, we went down to our cabin, which has a
deck overlooking the coast and an airy interior that is fully open to the
outside but also fully private.
After that lunch, we were also in need of a walk, so we
headed towards the beaches. The tide was high and there was really no beach to
be seen, but we did encounter more monkeys and a variety of birds and lizards.
At one point, we thought the monkeys were annoyed that we were watching them
because they started throwing half-eaten fruits in our direction, but we have
since been told that they were probably simply dropping them and that they were
not intentionally targeting us. The former story does sound a whole lot more
interesting, however.
We walked along until close to sunset, in search of a
waterfall that can supposedly be found at the far end of this strip of beaches
(but that we never found, even after a run this morning), before turning around
to return to our hut, and enjoyed seeing nocturnal creatures emerging from the
brush on the side of the road (mostly crabs we think though we could not really
see much). We had a late dinner and then slowly retired into the night.
Our second day began in a similar way. It is quite easy to
wake early in the morning here, with light all around and a variety of animal
calls, so we went up to the lodge to get some coffee and then headed on our
first runs around the area. Shuwen went back in search of the waterfall (she
found a rocky river but not much more), and Marc went back in the direction of
Puerto Jimenez, enjoying several river crossings and taking in the views of
pasture that cover much of the land between the town and Lapa Rios. Marc saw
red-shelled crabs, a tayra (something of a weasel) and various birds, while
Shuwen saw a number of capuchin monkeys, some carrying their babies on their
backs. After breakfast we continued with a hike of the Osa Trail (all located
within the grounds of Lapa Rios), which brought us across primary and secondary
forest and allowed us to discover a range of exotic birds and more monkeys (the
howler monkeys being especially noteworthy due to the howling sounds they
make). Among the birds we spotted were colorful trogons and cotingas, the
collared forest falcon and gray-headed kite, and a number of native birds such
as the ant tanager and chestnut-backed antbird. At the very end of the hike,
our guide laughed as we all walked by a deadly fer-de-lance pit viper without even
seeing it (whose bite is apparently venomous enough to kill a person within two
hours). It was a baby snake and very small, but the adults can grow to be six
feet long. We got cleaned up and then had a lovely lunch in the midday breeze.
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