Nature Speaks
Our final days in Costa Rica
We left Drakes Bay early, because we wanted to beat the afternoon storms. This passage was longer though, and we wouldn’t arrive until about three in the afternoon. All morning the weather was excellent, clear and sunny, and the sea state was mild, small waves and spread fairly far apart. As soon as we made the turn into Bahia de Golfito though, we could see a storm ahead, coming in our direction. It hit us as we motored along the southern end of the Oso Peninsula, and it was pretty intense. The winds clocked up to 30 knots in our teeth, pushing up seas that we had to punch through to make way. As the seas mounted, they started to slow us down significantly, from our usual seven and half knots down to six, and sometimes five. It’s always a bit tense on board with the lightning strikes coming too close for comfort.
Peter watched the storm on the radar, where we could see individual cells, and made adjustments to try to sail in between them as much as possible. Eventually, he realized that there was a radar shadow from the mast, and the path through the storm was just an illusion!
Below is a small video Peter made while sailing through the storm.
The storm abated though as we started to round the corner to Jimenez which is where we planned to stop, and by the time we anchored it was just a memory. At Jimenez, the water was a bit more protected, and after dropping anchor, we were rewarded with this beautiful sunset over the sweet little town of Puerto Jimenez.
With our rental car, we made a date with a couple of locals from Jimenez named Kali and Marcela whom we met through our friends Michelle and Joe on Soul Rebel. I booked a massage with Marcela and she was amazing. She also works at Bosque del Cabo and luckily for us she had off for the long weekend. Kali also works at Bosque del Cabo managing construction there and they both offered to take us on a tour of the lodge and surrounding jungle.
Bosque del Cabo is at the tip of the Oso Peninsula with incredible views of the ocean. It’s a gorgeous property that has many diverse plants, birds, monkeys, lizards, snakes, and spiders. It is situated next to the Dulce trail which we hiked as it meandered down through the jungle to the sea. The following collection of photos captures the beauty of this retreat center located inside the most precious part of Costa Rica. We highly recommend staying here when you visit Costa Rica. You will not be disappointed by its tasteful natural setting designed to create a deeply relaxing retreat.
We went for a dip inside this beautiful pool of water. It was so refreshing before we started our hike on the Dulce trail down through the jungle.
Very soon on the trail we came across spider monkeys which have a unique calling sound so different than the more common howler monkeys we were use to hearing. You have to wait a little while watching the video below for the spider monkeys to appear on camera. You can hear them the whole time I’m filming. I was little nervous about them because we saw a mother with her baby on her back and I thought she might feel threatened by us being there. Maybe it was from watching the film “Talladega Nights” too many times when the younger son of Jimmy Bobby says to his Grandfather, “I’m going to come at you like a spider monkey!”
Peter is taking a seat next to the water to rest from our steep decline hike from Bosque del Cabo. We ended up walking another 1/2 mile to another eco lodge to have lunch and then swim in their pool which was up to people who dine with them. We met a friendly dog and had a refreshing swim while we waited for Kali to join us for another swim at the beach and the ride home. We saw howler monkeys and the exquisite Scarlet McCaw birds.
Here is a short video of howler monkeys which we don’t get to see as often as we hear them.
It was a wonderful day exploring the Osa Peninsula. It was about a 2 hour drive from Puerta Jimenez through pretty rough terrain in a rental car. We were glad Kali drove us back because he drives to Bosque del Cabo very often in his truck. The road leading to Bosque are not well maintained with no guard rails on the many bridges over the river and we were going to be heading back in the dark. We felt very lucky to have Kali and Marcela with us that day. They are both super friendly and generous. In exchange for their time, we lent them our car to use to drive to a relatives birthday party that night while we went back to our boat to rest our weary legs.
For our last excursion before leaving Costa Rica we caught up with Kyle and Leah on Jubel and went on a hike with a guide from the town Golfito to a couple of water falls with swimming holes. It was a nice day of walking and swimming in crystal clear, fresh water. The water was the town’s main source of drinking water. It wasn’t really open to the public, but we didn’t know this until we got there. We ended up paying the indigenous people living on the land a fee to cross their land on the way to the falls.
And so our time in Golfito ended our time in Costa Rica. We highly recommend going to Costa Rica and staying at Bosque del Cabo to explore all the land and jungle and beaches from there. You will not be disappointed! We absolutely loved our time in Costa Rica. We spent three months exploring its diverse habitat which left us feeling a deep respect for the people of Costa Rica and how much they value being part of their natural world which they are committed to keeping healthy.
Take a look at what we found inside the harbor of Golfito! This was a big one and you can see how quietly they swim in the water for easily sneaking up on their prey!
Stay tuned for more adventures as we sail to Panama and explore the beautiful islands on the Pacific side before transiting the canal into the Atlantic.
Gorgeous pictures and beautiful retreat property! CR is so stunning! Pura vida, baby!
The photos and videos are amazing. Every time I see and read your posts I so want to do the same thing. But I forget that I really hate sailing when there is a storm