Corcovado National Park

It’s dawn, I am already up this early during the day as I am hoping to see some wildlife. The sun hasn’t come up yet, but darkness is slowly fading from the sky. The temperatures are comfortable this early in the morning (5 am), around 25C I am guessing, and outside on the patio I hear the sounds of the jungle and the waves from the sea below. Åke is still sleeping and is enjoying some more rest before he also needs to get up, as today we have planned a trip to Corcovado National Park.

I was hoping to see some monkeys and a Sloth with baby in the trees as these are regular visitors to the garden. But luck is not on my side this morning, no wildlife to be seen anywhere around. But even without the wildlife showing up, it is still a wonderful way to slowly wake up this morning.

5:30, time for Åke to wake up as well and hop into the car. We drive south along the coastal road to a village called Sierpe, tucked away in the jungle in the Osa Peninsula. It’s about an hour and 15 minutes drive to get to our tour operator La Perla del Sur.

By boat through the Terraba-Sierpe Wet Lands

Corcovado National Park is not an easy place to visit, which is probably why it is still so pristine. From Sierpe we take the boat and follow the river through the Terraba-Sierpe Wet Lands for about 45 minutes. During the boat ride we can see quite a few birds on the shores, among others lots of Egrets. There are also plenty of crocodiles around, so we are advised not to put our hands into the water, which I happily obey to seeing the crocodiles on the shores and gliding quickly into the water when we get too close.

After 45 minutes we get to the end of the river and are at sea. The trip continues for at least 30 minutes more on open sea along the shores of Corcovado. From the boat we see the dense jungle and beautiful pristine beaches. The sea is calm making the bumpy trip over the waves relatively comfortable.

Arriving at the beach of Corcovado NP

Finally we are there, Corcovado! We make a wet landing, meaning that we need to wade through the last few meters from the boat to the beach. It’s just 4 of us plus our guide that will be going on the hike in Corcovado for approx. 3 hours. First hurdle though is to cross a little river. It’s low tide, so an easy obstacle to cross. After that it is time to put on our hiking shoes as the trails are good, but at the same time quite muddy and slippery. And with all the creepy crawlers around it is better not to walk in sandals.