They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and first impressions are important. So, to sum up my fantastic weekend down on the Osa Peninsula with the parents, I'll share an anecdote from our arrival and post some pictures, hopefully elaborating more when I have some time.
Things got off to a rocky start. There was a miscommunication, and I arrived at the airport minutes after our plane took off. Luckily, there were two seats free on a flight a couple hours later, so my mom and I cooled our heels in San Jose while my dad got the head start to Osa (he seemed to be embracing "Pura Vida" well, and met us at the Puerto Jimenez airport with a smile after having a couple beers and getting a tour of the city while he was waiting).
Are you kidding me?
The ride itself was rocky, too, to say the least. We walked out onto the tarmac (there's no jetway when you're fliyng to Osa) to find a small 12-seat plane awaiting us. This is not what I signed up for, I thought. Needless to say, it was a bit bumpy, but the flight went quick and soon we were landing in Puerto Jimenez. Where, of course, there is a cemetary right next to the airport. Not a good sign for those harrowing landings.
A short but bumpy car ride later, we arrived at El Remanso lodge, which, we soon found out, lived up to its name (see title). Within an hour, we were greeted by two scarlet macaws, which swooped in out of the jungle. You can hear them miles away (we later learned that most birds either look good or sound good, compensating one for the other to attract a mate, and macaws clearly fall in to the former category). There were also true toucans (yes, the "toucans" from Arenal were actually aracari) in the tree right outside our room. We walked down to the beach, and, after watching the sky fill with majestic, heavenly color, we encountered monkeys and a huge, two-meter long (allegedly) bird-eating snake (Kathy was less excited about this). Not bad for a first impression.
We split most of our time between exploring the jungles around El Remanso and relaxing by the pool or enjoying the lodge's excellent meals and cold beers. El Remanso's guide, Gerardo, was top-notch. Saturday morning, we went on a three-hour hike along the "ridge trail," where we saw more monkeys, collared peckaries (like a wild boar) numerous birds and butterflies, and learned about the amazing "walking trees." Gerardo was eagle-eyed and extremely knowledgable but made it easy to follow along. He got so excited whenever we encountered something new ("OHMYGOD!" he'd say, "This is going to be very good for us!") that it was hard not to as well.
the crew
We liked Gerardo so much we decided to take the birdwatching tour the next day. I never thought I'd get in to birdwatching (I am very impatient) but it was actually a great time.
Finally, we woke up at 6 our last morning (most days we woke up that early anyway, as the sounds of the jungle don't let you sleep in) to have a canopy breakfast, where you zip-line to a platform up on a tree to have your meal. I must admit, gallo pinto and eggs are especially delecious when you are over 100 feet in the air, in the middle of rain forest canopy.
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