Corcovado National Park

Ted. Two days after arriving in Drake Bay, we found ourselves at 6:00 am back down at the beach waiting for another little boat to take us to a beach/trail head where our hike into the national park would commence. This hour long ride was in the open ocean. 

Fortunately, the surf was subdued in the morning, so we were able to stop the engine at one point as a pod of Pacific spotted dolphins bobbed around and under our boat, visiting and playing (note - all of the photos you'll see here were found on the Internet).

At journeys end, we once again found ourselves climbing over the transom and wading ashore. As the boat roared away, our 9-person tour group did look like a bunch of castaways. 

Dubbed by National Geographic as, “the most biologically intense place in Earth in terms of biodiversity,” we were thrilled to begin the big adventure. Our guide, Roy was enthusiastic and had an eagle eye. He also carried a spotting scope and tripod, which proved helpful. We followed a trail through the jungle towards the ranger station at Sirena. There were several other small groups wandering around, all looking for similar animals. The trail was flat but soggy. In several places we had to wade across small streams or teeter on narrow log bridges. My waterproof shoes did not help when stepping through 12” of water. Of course, it soon started to rain, which should not have been surprising as this, after all, was a rain forest. 

We immediately spotted a wide variety of birds and mammals. No luck with snakes and reptiles, though. By the time we arrived at the ranger station we were pretty well soaked but had seen howler and squirrel monkeys, toucans, hawks (seen those) plus two very impressive great curassows, a male and a female. Costa Rica’s “turkeys,” these guys can weigh up to 10 pounds. 

Female great curassow

Male great curassow

The ranger station has a dormitory for folks desiring an extended stay as well as a tiny gift shop and café. We wrung out our socks, ate a cookie and headed out again, thankful that the rain had ended. 

There were two animals that I was especially keen to see on our visit, spider monkeys (the rarest of the 4 species found in Costa Rica) and tapirs, the largest mammals found in Central and South America. By the time we left, we had seen both. The tapir was surprisingly docile and we were able to approach to within about 20’. 

Geoffroy's Spider Monkey

Baird's Tapir

Then it was back to the beach where we climbed aboard our tiny return trip to Drake Bay. The surf was really pounding this time and I found myself whispering that old Breton fisherman’s prayer, “God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.” But make it back we did. Our adventure ended on a festive note as we all gathered at a small restaurant for lunch, beer and stories. Was it worth it? Absolutely!