Since we were primarily in just 2
locations and the photos don't need much explaining, you can browse the
pictures and skip the whole Trip Report! This is just a short
outline before going to the photo collection but if you want to read
the full story, it is found here.
We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica on Feb 19 and spent the night in
an airport hotel that had beautiful gardens - a "sneak preview" of the
rest of the trip. The next day, Feb 20 we took a small SANSA
flight to Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula, where Liz had a cab waiting for us to take us
the last 45 minutes or so, up to the Lodge at Bosque del Rio Tigre,
arriving around 11 AM. This is a rustic, camping-like
accommodation in the jungle, with awesome food, delightful hosts (Liz
Jones and Abraham Gallo) and wonderful birding. Lots of feeders
all around the lodge; we did 3 bird walks with Abraham, a short hike
to a waterfall, and several other short hikes on our own.
Monday, February 24 a cab transferred us to the Iguana Lodge on the
Golfo Dulce where we spent the next 12 days. Our "club room" was
over the Pearl Restaurant where we had most meals. It had a great
balcony, including hammock, and nice view of palm trees and gulf (though no A/C).
We took 2 outings while there: one using a water taxi to get to the Casa Orquideas botanical garden. They
specialize in orchids but had a wide variety of plants that you'll see in the pictures. The second was
a half-day nature excursion with the resident naturalist, Sidnar, down to the southern end of
the peninsula at Matapalo. We took a van down to the trail to
Playa Pan Dulce then hiked around the area for a while before being
picked up again. There are lots of pictures from that, too. Mostly we
spent our time there walking the beach, relaxing, reading, in the pool or napping.
We left Saturday March 7 on a SANSA flight back to San Jose, then on to Cedar Rapids on Sunday. Just in time to sequester at home for the Coronavirus pandemic. So glad we were able to get that trip in - who knows when there will be another?
We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica on Feb 19 and spent the night in
an airport hotel that had beautiful gardens - a "sneak preview" of the
rest of the trip. The next day, Feb 20 we took a small SANSA
flight to Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula, where Liz had a cab waiting for us to take us
the last 45 minutes or so, up to the Lodge at Bosque del Rio Tigre,
arriving around 11 AM. This is a rustic, camping-like
accommodation in the jungle, with awesome food, delightful hosts (Liz
Jones and Abraham Gallo) and wonderful birding. Lots of feeders
all around the lodge; we did 3 bird walks with Abraham, a short hike
to a waterfall, and several other short hikes on our own.
Monday, February 24 a cab transferred us to the Iguana Lodge on the
Golfo Dulce where we spent the next 12 days. Our "club room" was
over the Pearl Restaurant where we had most meals. It had a great
balcony, including hammock, and nice view of palm trees and gulf (though no A/C).
We took 2 outings while there: one using a water taxi to get to the Casa Orquideas botanical garden. They
specialize in orchids but had a wide variety of plants that you'll see in the pictures. The second was
a half-day nature excursion with the resident naturalist, Sidnar, down to the southern end of
the peninsula at Matapalo. We took a van down to the trail to
Playa Pan Dulce then hiked around the area for a while before being
picked up again. There are lots of pictures from that, too. Mostly we
spent our time there walking the beach, relaxing, reading, in the pool or napping. We left Saturday March 7 on a SANSA flight back to San Jose, then on to Cedar Rapids on Sunday. Just in time to sequester at home for the Coronavirus pandemic. So glad we were able to get that trip in - who knows when there will be another?
Click here to peruse the pictures of the trip! They are in chronological order and mostly labeled.