VACATIONS FROM HOME: DAY TRIP AT CORCOVADO NATIONAL PARK

JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

The M/S Panorama had anchored in Drake Bay on the northern side of the Osa Peninsula the day of our Corcovado shore excursion. It was our last day in Costa Rica before sailing into Panamanian waters. We were on a week-long trip along the Central American Pacific coastline and Corcovado is literally saving the best for last. It is perhaps the most biologically intense place in the world, with such a variety of animals, birds, insects in this 164 square mile old growth tropical rainforest on the remote Osa Peninsula that it would be impossible to see it all in one day. Our four hours in the park would literally just be scratching the surface of what Corcovado has to offer.

Drake Bay is named for the English pirate Sir Francis Drake who used this area as a port in the 16^th Century and might have buried some of his treasure here. There were two other excursions Variety Cruises offered that day around the Drake Bay area, but there were no takers. One was a tour of the mangrove reserve Sierpe Terraba and the other was a snorkeling excursion to the clear blue waters off nearby Cano Island where the biodiversity of Costa Rica extends underwater to coral, schools of colorful tropical fish, rays, sharks, moray eels, sea turtles and an occasional dolphin, reef and bull sharks. Humpback whales also ply these waters on their annual migrations between August and October.

Corcovado Beach
Sirena Ranger Station

All 16 passengers aboard the Panorama opted instead for Corcovado,

The ship’s inflatable zodiac tenders were too small to carry us all from Drake Bay to the Sirena Ranger Station on the southern shore of the peninsula so the tour group pulled up in a speed boat capable of carrying everyone. Sirena is the most difficult to reach, but the hiking there is flat and perfect for a day trip. The forest is newer here, there were people living in this area of the peninsula and they had cleared the land before Costa Rica reclaimed it to form Corcovado National Park. So, here it’s not primary, old-growth tropical rainforest, but in the 40 plus years of its existence the trees are still massive and the animals are still everywhere.

Landing site Corcovado
Sirena Ranger Station

It is possible to hike elsewhere in the park and it is best to arrange this with a tour guide. It is also possible to stay overnight at the Sirena Ranger Station where there are rustic bunk room accommodations that share a common bathroom and food is served. Hiking more than a few days in Corcovado allows one to see more wildlife and walk along beautiful beaches and landscapes. One possible hike is from the La Leona Eco Lodge to Sirena, about 16 km, which takes about 7 hours to complete, and timing on this particular hike is important because of both the tide and the heat. At low tide one can traverse the rocks along the shore or go inland on a trail parallel to the beach, but one must be aware of the crocodiles and the bull sharks in the tidal areas. Yeah, take a guide.

SIRENA ESTUARY

The speed boat still took an hour to travel from Drake Bay to the landing site near Sirena and along the way we were entertained by a pod of frolicking dolphins and a breaching sea turtle. It was low tide when we reached the landing area so our boat dropped us off and we had to wade in knee deep water along a rocky uneven bottom. The sand was black and as as I could see along the coast it was desolate.

Thick forest edged the beach and the brilliant sunlight of the day was quickly shadowed by the canopy of the rainforest. Before we could gather ourselves and break up into two 8 person groups with our own guide, a tapir and offspring slowly walked through the forest into our midst, ignoring us as they lumbered across the trail. Awestruck because these nocturnal animals are rarely seen we parted reverently, making sure to remain silent, although I am sure the animals could hear our hearts beating loudly. Later we saw this pair again enjoying a mud bath in a nearby stream.

TAPIR

Even the guides were excited at this rare sighting.

All told that day we only “hiked” a little more than 3 km or roughly 2 miles, along a well-maintained flat trail, but within that small area we saw, thanks to our guide, an incredible array of plants animals and insects. Everyone was photographing everything seen and “airdropping” pictures to each other… You see, I am learning new technology.

NOT ALL RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES

The birds and animals we saw in a very relatively small area of Corcovado was fascinating. We saw bats hanging beneath leaves, birds eyeing us curiously from perches or from the hollows of trees, and a little lizard with its grasshopper lunch in its jaws trying to escape our prying eyes. At the Sirena estuary it was low tide and we could see the rocks at the shoreline but thankfully no crocodiles or bull sharks. At one point just off the trail a coati trundled along ignoring us, like the tapirs exhibiting no fear of the respectful humans on its home turf. We smelled the pungent odor of a peccary, also called a skunk pig, before he chortled past on the trail ahead of us. We saw hummingbirds and brilliantly colored dragonflies and heard Toucans and Macaws and very loud Howler Monkeys but did not see them. We were entertained by spider monkeys though as they slung through the trees just above us. At one point I shook a sapling and a monkey “attacked” it knocking small branches scattering over Janet’s head.

Though we did not see any big cats, like a puma or jaguar, there was an extremely helpful informative sign put up the rangers telling us what to do if we were "lucky" to encounter one of these usually reclusive felines. It was a chilling reminder we were in a jungle and it's not always rainbows and butterflies. These are all wild animals and we were on their land.

The hit of the day, at least for our guide, “Charlie”, (he said there were too many guys named Carlos), was a very weird looking caterpillar on a tree. He had never seen it before and excited at the find. Like everything else in Corcovado National Park, we got up close and personal with the menacing looking critter.

When we finally emerged from the jungle to reach the Sirena Ranger Station, we were hot and had a 15-minute rest. Sirena is a neat rustic complex of buildings and quite a welcome sight in the middle of the jungle. We were asked to remove our shoes so as not to track the jungle onto the open-air porch where several people were lounging on chairs. There’s a small canteen there for food and drink purchases. Believe it or not I had a coffee and Janet had a mocha drink. I didn’t have enough Costa Rican money, Colones, so I conveniently used a card. We used the washroom facility and got a glimpse of the bunk bed accommodations; each had mosquito netting.

SIRENA RANGER STATION CORCOVADO

The station is on the edge of a grassy airstrip, that is sometimes used by charter carriers to bring in tourists. To see such commerce and civilization juxtaposed to the jungle proved we were simply scratching the surface of Corcovado. At Manuel Antonio National Park the bustle of commerce was just on the other side of a fence, but here in this biologically intense jungle, Sirena Ranger Station felt like a guest to the great expanse of Corcovado, respectfully sitting, admiring the nature that surrounds it. Beyond the ranger station was the wild Corcovado National Park, living, breathing and beautiful.

Thanks for reading.