Activity Descriptions  

Catalina Islands Offshore Sail & Snorkel:  Get comfortable aboard the Lazy Lizard, a 40ft Catamaran destined for the Catalina Islands, Roca Sucia, Roca Sombrero and surrounding areas.  Explore marine life, identify marine life including white-finned sharks, spotted eagle-rays, Moray Eels, and much more!  Explain ocean currents, riptides, the coreolis effect, and the basic physics principles utilized in sailing.   Enjoy lunch on board and prepare for the ride back while you watch the sunset over the water behind you.  With a little luck, maybe some dolphin will escort the boat back to port! 

Barra Honda National Park:  Barra Honda is a 450 m high, nearly flat mesa looming 300m (1,000 feet) above the Tempisque valley and the Golfo de Nicoya. It’s most astonishing feature is that it is literally composed of coral over 60 million years old. Geological forces pushed the coral reef off the seabed floor over 70 million years ago.  Rains have since created underground caverns adorned with nature-formed underground art galleries: soda straws, pearls, roses, needles, cave grapes, curtains, terraces, stalactites, stalagmites and other calcareous formations await you at Barra Honda.   

Palo Verde Wildlife/Wetland Preserve:  Scientists from all over the world come here to study the 12 different habitats, ranging from mangrove swamps, marshes, lagoons, and seasonal marshes and forests.  A boat ride down the Tempisque River allows participants to experience the largest concentration of waterland and wading birds in all of Central America .  Over 300 species of birds such as a nesting colony of the black crowned night heron, the endangered jabiru stork, scarlet macaws, and keel-billed toucans are all found at Palo Verde.  Other possible sightings include deer, iguanas, crocodile, monkeys, and peccaries. 

Rincon de la Vieja:  At approximately 34,800 acres, this national park is named after its main attraction, an active volcano of the same name.  Meaning “Old Woman’s Nook”, the name comes from the story of a young woman whose lover was thrown into the crater, and then became a recluse.   

You will explore the national park’s main trails and star attractions such as the 260 C mud baths, and the sulfur vents which bear witness to this venerable volcano’s enduring raw energy.  Numerous cones, craters, and lagoons can be visited on horseback and on foot.  The volcano is gently active, making it safe to explore the fumaroles, boiling mud pools, steam vents and sulfurous springs.   Many tree species are found in the forest as well as the highest concentration of  Costa Rica ’s national flower, the purple orchid. 

Manuel Antonio.  Manuel Antonio National Park trail. 

You will arrive at Manuel Antonio around mid-day.  Although it is our stop-over on the way to Osa Peninsula, it is worth the trip in itself.

Manuel Antonio contains a charming combination of rain forest, beaches and coral reefs. This beaches are home to some of the best snorkeling in the country, and are surrounded by lush forest. Inside the park, forest trails will lead you through the habitats of sloths, coatimundis, scarlet macaws, marmosets, ocelots, river otters, pacas, rare and adorable squirrel monkeys, spectacled caimans and millions of colorful little crabs.  

Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer, whose futile search for the Fountain of Youth became his signature expedition, is rarely recognized for one of his greatest discoveries - Quepos and Manuel Antonio - which he put on the charts in 1519. 

Rio Sierpe  From Manuel Antonio, we will continue South, to the town of Sierpe. Located some 30 km from the Pacific Ocean along the Rio Sierpe, the small sleepy town of Sierpe lies roughly 15 km south of Palmar Sur and a few miles from the Pan American Highway.  Here, we will transfer everything to boats that will take us down the Sierpe River and through the largest mangrove reserve in Latin America. The Térraba-Sierpe National Wetlands is situated where the mouths of the Sierpe and Térraba rivers meet and is home some of the biggest mangroves in the world. Also the habitat for an extensive array of indigenous animals, birds and reptiles including turtles, spoonbills, crocodiles, monkeys, herons, kingfishers, caimans, boa constrictors, three species of monkeys, and tree frogs, these wonderful wetlands are an amazing place to see.  However, they are only part of the adventure taking us to Osa Peninsula!  In about an hour, we will be in the Sierpe River delta, where ocean meets river.  Once on the ocean, we will continue for about another hour south to our cabin site and home for the next four days. 

Corcovado National Park Rainforest Study and Hike. On the first day in Osa, we will explore the primary and secondary forests of Corcovado National Park, identify wildlife, learn about unique ecosystem organisms, edible vs. poisonous plants and leaves, special behavioral traits of native animals and insects, and witness the life cycle of the forest by seeing different trees in different stages of life.Primary and secondary forest.

Corcovado National Park protects 6 major habitats including a mountain forest, which covers more than half the park; a cloud forest, located in the highest region and richly populated by oaks and tree ferns; swamp forests, flooded practically year-round; a Yolillo forest, predominated by palms; a mangrove swamp, located on the estuaries of the Llorona, Corcovado and Sirena Rivers; and a freshwater herbaceous swamp.

The park is home to some 500 species of trees-equivalent to a quarter of all the tree species in Costa Rica. Some of the larger trees include the purple heart, Guanacaste, Ceiba, shoe maker tree, cow tree, espavel and Royal mahogany.

It is also home to approximately 140 species of mammals, 367 birds, 117 amphibians and reptiles, 40 types of freshwater fish, and it is estimated that there are some 6,000 types of insects. It is common to see large herds of white-lipped peccary, as well as howler, spider white faced, and squirrel monkeys. The Corcovado park is a sanctuary to the largest population of scarlet macaws in the country, many of which are easily accessible from the Sirena station or along the beach. Other species of birds found here are the king vulture, white hawk, short-billed pigeon, orange-chinned parakeet and bronze-tailed sicklebill. In addition, the Park protects several endangered species including large cats and reptiles. Moreover, it is home to several species of birds, which are either endemic or whose distribution is very restricted. 

Rio Claro Rainforest Hike.  The Rio Claro is within the Corcovado National Park and will be the “trail” you will follow on day 2 in Osa.  It is a less intense hike, and you will have more time to simply enjoy the nice river, while still taking in the incredible nature.  We will enter the river from the mouth and return to the mouth at the end, where you will also be able to enjoy some swimming in the natural pool just before the ocean. 
 

Cano Island.  Day 3 in Osa takes us off land and onto water again!  We will take about a 50-minute boat ride to Cano Island, which undoubtedly has some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world. 

With a little some luck we may see dolphin, whales, sea turtles, and marine birds on the way there.  The water is unbelievably clear, and the aquatic life around the Cano island is spectacular.  Snorkelers will find a broad and colorful spectrum of Pacific Coast reef fish such as: triggerfish, needlefish, parrotfish, angelfish, puffers, grunts, barracudas among many others -- as well as rays, sea turtles and white tip reef sharks.

The island itself is of archeological significance due to the fact that pre-Columbian artifacts have been found here, including the famous perfectly round stone spheres found elsewhere in southern Costa Rica.  It is thought the island served as a sacred burial ground for the most important members of the native people living on shore. 

After snorkeling, we will make landfall on the island for lunch, and take the short hike inland to see the rest of the island.  We will meet back at the beach and head back for base camp in the afternoon. 

Beach day.  Bat catching and observation at night.  

Travel to Jaco.  Didn’t get enough of Rio Sierpe?  Don’t worry, today you get to see it again!  We say goodbye to Osa, get back on the boats, and back to the wonderful Sierpe river.  We transfer back to the bus at Sierpe, and head to the Jaco Beach area.  Jaco is a tourist beach town just north of Manuel Antonio.  We will get there just in time for lunch, check into our hotel, and then head to the nearby Canopy tour which overlooks the beach and surrounding jungle area.  The Canopy tour will send you zip-lining across treetops, between platforms high off the ground. 

By now, you will be very tired, trust us!  We will spend the evening allowing you to do some shopping in Jaco, followed by a relaxing dinner and early bedtime. 

Travel to Miravillas Volcano.  The next day takes us to the Miravalles/Tenorio area. 

The spectacular Miravalles volcano is located on the Cordilleraí Guanacaste about 21 miles outside Liberia, and is the largest volcano in the mountain range.  It stands at 600m (1969ft) above sea level, and in 1976, the surrounding 10,850 hectares were declared a protected area called “Reserva Miravalles”. 

The park protects the origins of many rivers that feed into the Golfo de Nicoya and Nicaragua.  It boasts cloud forests and primary rainforest that are home to coyotes, deer, capuchin monkeys, peccaries, and several wild cats.  The vegetation includes epiphytes and ferns, coconut palm trees, and much more.

Though dormant since 1946, the Miravalles area bubbles with volcanic activity and phenomena almost everywhere you look: mud pits, bubbling water pools, thermal springs, fumaroles, crystallized sulfur, and young lava flows that pour over the west and south slopes. 

In 1994, the Costa Rican government embarked on an ambitious project to harness the geothermal energy found around the volcano.  The plant, now in stage 5, generates electricity for the surrounding area.  It is the only such project in Costa Rica.

We will tour the plant and surrounding area on the day of arrival, and then check into Carolina Lodge. 

Rio Celeste.  The next day takes us to Rio Celeste and it’s beautiful surrounding area.  Another by-product of the Miravalles/Tenorio volcanic area, the river’s unique mineral content creates a surprising and beautiful color.  The hike around and through the river will take the better part of the day.

From trailhead, it is a 2 km (1.2 miles) hike to the breathtaking Rio Celeste waterfall. The adventurous can swim near pounding 70-foot falls. A 7 km (4.3 miles) hike takes you beyond the falls and deeper into the virgin rain forest, home to pumas, tapirs and other animals. You will trek to the streaming hot and cool springs of the local volcanoes, mineral mud pits and the blue lagoon of the Rio Celeste.  We will have a packed lunch along the way.

Back at Carolina Lodge, we will enjoy our final dinner before departure the next day.  Be sure to enjoy Carolina Lodge’s hand-made, wood-fired hot-tub.  You will really enjoy it after all this hiking and adventure!