Skip to main content

The Flight & Drive to Bosque del Cabo

December 30, 2009

Woke at 5:30, got ready, got picked up and dropped off at the Quepos airport (7000 colones). We're waiting for the flight now. Pulled my breakfast cheese (the leftover chunk) and gatorade out of my bag. The Quepos to San José stretch was BUMPY! I was nauseous the whole way. The San José to Puerto Jiménez portion was not as bad, though I had my eyes closed for nearly all of it. (My husband took the pictures.)

nearing Puerto Jiménez 

 the gorgeous Osa coastline 








the cemetery greeting 


At the airport we were greeted by our driver, Eric, a cool and friendly guy. I got to ride in the front seat. (Or I should say get bounced around in the front seat on those crazy roads.) He'd be driving us into the jungle in a Land Rover with a couple from Baltimore, who were meeting up with another couple at Bosque del Cabo.

Eric stopped at the supermarket to pick up some supplies. At this point I was thinking, oh God, what if Bosque del Cabo is disastrous? But then we begin conversing with the couple. They stayed at Lapa Rios once also, and this was their third time at Bosque del Cabo. Considering how the rest of our trip wasn't quite living up to our expectations based on our first trip to Costa Rica, this was encouraging! And the more we conversed, the more our minds were put at ease.

Along the 45 minute or so ride, Eric spotted monkeys and parrots along the road. Bosque del Cabo is a bit further down the peninsula than Lapa Rios, at the very tip of the Osa peninsula.


monkey antics  

the scarlet macaws  



From here on out, it just gets more and more incredible!

next post >> Bosque del Cabo
previous post << Damas Island Mangrove Boat Tour

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chiropterophily: Bat Pollination

I see you! Geoffroy's tailless bat (Anoura Geoffroyi) - photo by Nathan Muchhala Ever since coming across this word, I can't stop saying it: chiropterophily. Chiropterophily, or pollination of plants by bats, is very common in the tropics. Hundreds of tropical plant species are exclusively or at least partly pollinated by nectar-feeding bats. Many tropical flowers are night-blooming, specializing in attracting bats. Bat-flowers are typically white, cream, or pale green in color, making them easier to see in the dark. They usually have a musky, fermented odor - like that of the bat - or sometimes a fruity odor. They have a large, sturdy, open shape with long, bushy anthers so that the bat's head and chest get coated in pollen when it visits. In return for the bat pollinating the flower, the flower provides the nectar that these high-energy flying mammals need.* Tube-lipped nectar bat (Anoura fistulata) - photo by Nathan Muchhala Nectivorous bats have both good eyesight an...

Eyeshine in Nocturnal Animals

Peters' Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus crypturus), Kruger National Park - photo by Peet van Schalkwyk Have you ever noticed how under certain lighting conditions some animal's eyes seem to glow? Animals that are nocturnal hunters - and a few of them that are not - have something called eyeshine . Eyeshine is the light that we see reflected back from the animal's tapetum lucidum (a membrane behind the animal's retina). Light enters the eye, passes through the retina, strikes the reflective membrane, and is reflected back through the eye toward the light source. This phenomenon makes the most of what little light there is at night for these nocturnal creatures. a moth with pink eyeshine Humans can display the red-eye effect in flash photography, but we do not have a tapetum lucidum , and thus, do not have eyeshine. Eyeshine is best observed by wearing a head lamp or holding a flashlight at eye level against your temple because the light is reflected right back into ...

Leaving Bosque del Cabo

January 4, 2010 We woke right before dawn. The howler monkeys were especially vocal this morning (or perhaps we just slept through the loud parts the previous mornings). We got ready then had a super quick breakfast of granola and fruit. The staff packed us some sandwiches for later. I selected avocado; Nick selected the pb&j deluxe. Eric drove us to the small, regional airport in Puerto Jiménez. It was a quiet ride; we were sad to go. We were fortunate to be able to stay 6 days; but even in this amount of time, we didn't do everything we wished to, like hike down to the beaches, hike to the waterfalls and the take the zipline tour. As we continued down the road, we passed the signpost to Lapa Rios, the lodge we had stayed at the previous year. Which was better? I hate to make such comparisons, as each of these places holds a special place in our hearts. Lapa Rios was the climactic end to our very first trip to Costa Rica. It was during the rainy seaso...