Next stop: La Paloma Lodge on the remote Osa Peninsula, the southwestern part of Costa Rica. An hour or so drive from Oxygen to Sierpe and a little longer boat ride on a river, through mangroves, and along the Pacific Coast to Drakes Bay and we arrived at our new home near Corcovado NP. The area is also home to many varieties of mammals (monkeys, tapir, jaguar, coatis, sloths ...), over 400 species of birds. (We did not see them all.), Reptiles (crocodiles, caimans...) and abundant marine life in the coral reefs around Cano Island.
Below cw from top left:
- navigating the mangrove lined river to the lodge
- a determined tree on a remote island
- arriving at the lodge
- napkin
- leaving Sierpe for Drake's Bay
- white- faced capuchin monkey at the lodge
La Paloma is simple and comfortable, It attracts couples and families looking for a true back. to nature experience. The lodge arranged cocktail hour and dining seating to encourage interaction. On arrival we met 3 other couples our age" out of maybe 15 groups of visitors. This is unusual for our travels and probably even for La Paloma as over the next few days there were more families.
Our visit to Cano Island was hampered by the weather, a storm convinced all snorkelers that it would be better on another day and, we turned around. After the weather cleared a little, the lodge, sent us to a closer beach. After returning to the lodge, we enjoyed a beach barbecue.
Sadly, while at the baech, Bill's new wedding band (purchased in Jaipur in 2024) slipped off his finger. He saw it in the sand and just as he reached for it he got hit by a wave. As for Pat;s wedding ring, well it's a long story. She fell. while we were at Arenal and while nost issues healed quickly, her ring finger did not. In fact she as becoming concerned that she would need the ring removed to facilitate circulation. But how? It turns our there was an emergency room doctor from Denver staying at the lodge. When she saw the finger she suggested she could remove the ring. So Pat sat for an hour with her arm raised and the finer iced. The Doc returned and with much patience on Pat's and the Doc's part, the ring came off. Phew. What a difference it made. The finger is now mostly back to normal. And Pat has committed herself to more awareness while walking. And for now we are both without wedding rings...but do still love each other.
On our NP tour the next day we encountered a lot of wildlife.
- Yellow-crowned Night Heron
- Brown Boobies
- Some interesting coast along the boat ride
- A spider hole with camouflaged door
- Plus captured the beach anding...Boats back in and people wade to shore
We had barely gotten to the National Park when we started seeing more
- Scarlet Macaw
- Tapir Tracks
- Bare-throated tiger heron
- American Oystercatcher
- Hermit Crab outside and inside "his shell"
- Golden Silk Orb-Weaver
- Babassu Palm Fruit
- Sprouted coconut
- Shoreline rock formations
- Shelf fungus growing on wood (providing little useful shelf surface as they are vertical.
- Common Basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus), also known as the "Jesus Christ lizard" due to its ability to run across the surface of water
We had a day off and spent some time just hanging out and working on our blog. Later we enjoyed the sunset tour got some nice photos.
Next morning we had an off-shore visitor (Jeff Bezos, a frequent visitor, in his yacht complete with helicopter).
We had some mischievous visitors, a troop of White-faced Capuchin monkeys, in the trees surrounding the lodge. We enjoyed the reflections of our wine and the view from the deck of the lodge.
Departure day included a short boat ride and drive to the air strip, driving upstream in a river shallow.. The flight to San Jose was in a small plane (12 - 15 passengers) along the coast. Note, not only did they weigh the luggage but the passengers too. Yes, that is Bill on the luggage scales.
