Costa Rica Safari

on the Osa Peninsula 

Febuary 15th-23rd 2020

Named by National Geographic as “the most biologically intense place on earth,” the Osa Peninsula is a true jewel of land water and life. 

Covering an area of just 700 square miles on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, the Osa’s geological history makes it home to a nearly unparalleled amount of biodiversity. The Peninsula is estimated to house 2.5% of the biodiversity of the entire world – while covering less than a thousandth of a percent of its total surface area – truly earning its title as the most biological intense place on earth.

                 This adventure will explore the famous Osa Peninsula by land and sea.

     Trip Highlights:

   • Wildlife of course! See and learn about monkeys, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

   • Interact with and photograph rainforest animals at a wildlife sanctuary.

   • Boat trip across the Golfito Bay and dolphin watching.

   • Learn about lowland rainforest ecology. – Hint, the plants steal the show!

   • Glamp or hammock tent at the edge of the Agujas River.

   • Night hike through the jungle to see the nocturnal world!

   • Go kayaking in hidden mangroves to see reclusive birds, and possibly crocodiles!

   • Learning a few things from the locals “Ticos”! Make your own coconut oil from scratch and fish off the shoreline with a Tico fisherman. 

   • Go back in time with nature’s body art and get a Jagua henna tattoo used by the pre-columbian people.

   • Horseback ride in the rainforest.

   • Hike and eat lunch in the mist of a beautiful waterfall and take a swim.

   • Organic farm tour, learn about the flora, make home made tortillas and have lunch with ingredients you pick from the farm.

   • Zip line through the jungle.   

   • Includes a roundtrip scenic flight in prop plane over Costa Rica’s wild coastline.

 Your itinerary

►Day 1: Arrival in San Jose –Transfer to San Jose Area Hotel 

Participants will arrive from the US at Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica whatever time is more convenient. Participants will get a taxi from the airport for a 10 minute ride to the hotel. You’re on your own for dinner, the hotel has a wonderful restaurant. Breakfast is complimentary at the hotel. Don’t make it a late night since tomorrow you will have an early flight to the coast.

►Day 2: Scenic Flight to the Osa Peninsula – Travel to the Puerto Jimenez

Morning:

You will depart from San Jose in the VERY early morning and enjoy a scenic 50-minute flight over mountains blanketed in thick forest to Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. We will take in the quaint little town, pick up some snacks, fruit and any other essentials you might need. Then we will head to the campsite and get settled in.

                                                            Afternoon:

   We will have lunch in the open-air tree gazebo, introductory meeting and go over the

   week’s activities. 

   Later, we will take a walk to the beach in hopes to see birds and other wildlife.

Evening:

Birding 101 Class. Learn the basics of birding including how to use your binoculars, field guides, sound and visual ID for Costa Rica feathered friends.

 ►Day 3: Kayak in the Bay and River Mangroves Adventure – Rainforest Night Hike

                                                                Morning:

    With the calls of howler monkeys and birds, the stirrings of the rainforest make it

    easy  to start the day early! After a breakfast, we will wait for high tide to begin our 3

    hour adventure of exploring the unique mangrove and river ecosystems by kayak.

    Pulled deep up the river by boat, we board our kayaks and paddle around hidden

    coves and giant mangroves in search of birds and maybe even a crocodile! Then

    when we have seen all that we can see, we let the river take us gently out, back into

    the waters of the gulf.

   After the kayak adventure we will pop into town for lunch, you are on your own but we

   will have some great recommendations for good places to eat.

                                                           Evening: Rainforest night hike.

►Day 4: Tico Fishing-Local Traditions-Coconut Oil 

Morning:

After breakfast, depending on the tide, we will either learn how to fish with a local

  fisherman, get ready it is a very unusual way to fish. Catch and release or bring back

 to  the campsite and we will have the cook prepare it for your dinner that night. If the

  tide is too low in the morning we will meet up with another local and you will learn how to make your own coconut oil from scratch. We will flip flop these two activities depending on tide and weather between the morning and the afternoon. We will sneak back to our campsite for lunch.

Evening: We will meet up at the local restaurant and discuss the one that got away.

►Day 5: Visit a Wildlife Sanctuary for up close animal encounters! Dolphin watching and Zip lining.

Morning: 

Early breakfast. We have a big day ahead of us! We will be traveling by boat across the Golfito Bay to the Piedras Blancas National Park and visiting the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary for a tour. A remote sanctuary that can only be accessed by boat. Here, will learn about the efforts to rescue and care for orphaned wildlife or those that have been victims of the animal trade. If we are lucky, we may be visited by one of the free-roaming spider monkeys that call the Sanctuary “home.” After the sanctuary tour we will travel to the town of Golfito. In town we will grab lunch and head up to the mountains for our next adventure, Zip lining through the rainforest. The zip-line tour consists of 13 platforms within 3000 meters of canopy. Propel down for an unforgettable aerial rope slide adventure set between a sublime mountain range of primary rainforest rich in native wildlife.

Evening: Dinner will be served by the river. Just sit back and relax and enjoy the jungle sounds.

►Day 6: Matapalo Hike & Lunch on the beach, Night Hike

Morning:

After a hearty breakfast, we will head out to Matapalo and take a 3 hour hike up the trail along a river with cascading water over the beautiful rocks, be on the lookout for poison dart frogs and bats snoozing on a leaf. After our hike we will hang out eating lunch on the beach and enjoy the waves of the endless Pacific Ocean, watch out for the four species of monkey who frequent the area.

Evening:

Night hike through the rainforest.

►Day 7: Organic Farm Tour-Jagua Body Art

Morning: 

After breakfast get ready to learn about the science and lore of Jagua fruit. Jagua is an edible, orange-size, tropical fruit with a thick rind found in central America. The natural dye has been extracted from the unripe fruit for centuries and used for many purposes by indigenous people throughout Central America, especially for body adornment, as a temporary tattoo similar to henna.

Its medicinal properties are well documented, chief among them the ability to repel insects and, when taken internally, to treat bronchitis. It is physically and spiritually intertwined with ancient cultures. Stories abound about the fruit’s medicinal and magical properties. The Jagua fruit tree is believed to be the tree of life, use of the juice from the Jagua fruit helps ensure that the deceased will gain safe passage to the light, a tea made with jagua helps fight the common cold, Jagua is scientifically proven to have antibiotic functions. Decorating one’s body with the jagua fruit turns a person into a fierce warrior! So start thinking of what body art you would like!

Afternoon:

In a world crowded with junk food this is your farm to table tour Tico style! Enjoy eating and learning about the most typical grown products in Costa Rica. It will take you back in time to when no chemicals were used to grow our food. In this walking farm tour you will be nibbling along the way and picking ingredients that you will be preparing for your own organic lunch!

Back to the campsite for a relaxing afternoon.

Evening: You’re on your own in town for dinner and to explore the town.

►Day 8: Horse Back Riding- & Farewell Dinner

Morning: 

Breakfast at the campsite then off to find our equines.

Horseback ride through the wild rainforest, grassy meadow, up and down hills and across picturesque rocky Pacific beaches. The peninsula has quite a cowboy culture and the local guides leading the tours always have their eyes peeled for interesting critters. Well-behaved and easy to handle, our gentle horses will take you comfortably on the equestrian trails. Fully experience the stunning natural abundance from the saddle taking in your surroundings as you don’t have to watch every step.

Afternoon: We are going to eat at a local restaurant. Take the afternoon off to relax and reflect.

Evening:

Farewell dinner.

►Day 9: Departure Day

Early morning flights from Puerto Jimenez to San Jose. Mid-afternoon flights to USA.

**Gratuities for guides and staff not included. Water and sodas provided, alcohol beverages are not. This trip is co-ed with shared accommodations. Glamping tent and jungle hammocks available. First deposits have choice of accommodation. True eco experience outdoor shower, composition eco friendly toilet and running water. Power outlet available in common area to charge your electronics.

** Please note: The activities, lodging, guides, and schedule may change without notice as practical considerations arise during program 

development or onsite. **

     Introductory price of $1,450.00 (does not include flight to San Jose Costa rica airport). Non refundable deposit of $450.00 must be made by January 15th, 2020, balance of $1,000.00 to be paid by February 1, 2020.

More Osa Peninsula Highlights

 One of the last places in Costa Rica to be settled and still sparsely populated, the Osa is covered almost entirely in magnificent, virgin rainforest extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Separating it from the mainland is the Golfo Dulce – one of only four

  tropical fjords on the planet. The Golfo Dulce is in fact the only place on the globe

    where populations of both Northern and Southern Humpback whales meet to birth their young. The Osa packs an unparalleled amount of land and marine species and diverse ecosystems in an incredibly small area, including:

• The most significant wetland ecosystem and mangrove forests of Central America
• The largest remaining tract of lowland rainforest in Pacific Mesoamerica
• 2-3% of flora found nowhere else in the world
• 323 endemic species of plants and vertebrates
• The largest population of scarlet macaws in Central America
• More than 4,000 vascular plants
• More than 10,000 insects
• More than 700 species of trees (which is more than all the Northern temperate regions combined)
• 463 species of birds
• 140 mammals, including 25 species of dolphins and whales
• 4 species of sea turtles

To sign up or for more information call or email Stephanie (408) 621-0620 bowwowprod@aol.com