Saturday, January 14, 2023
Guests who had arrived on our boat were split into two groups, each assigned a lodge guide. Today our group would hike into Corcovdo National Park while the other would go on a snorkeling trip. Tomorrow the groups would switch activities.
We'd been told that the trails would be very muddy so we each got fitted for rubber boots. There was a prohibition against carrying plastic water bottles into the park, so Johan scored us each a very nice Camelback brand stainless steel water bottle. We'd been told that we would have to stay with our lodge guide as part of the national park rules, but we separated pretty quickly as we were looking for birds and the other tour was a more general nature tour. No one seemed to notice or mind. Johan had worked as a guide at the lodge for a couple of years and knew the area very well.
The trail was initially wet and muddy, so we were glad for the boots. Johan immediately showed us some fresh Tapir tracks, and a little farther down Tapir poop in the creek. Apparently they always poop into water!
Seeing a Tapir is sort of the holy grail of this hike. There are a lot of Tapir in the area and we saw plenty of tracks and poop, but never saw the animal itself. They can be very large, up to six feet long and weighing over 500 pounds! For reference, an internet picture of a Tapir:
As is often the case on forest trails, birding was pretty slow. We did get great looks at a pair of Black-throated Trogans and a Black-hooded Antshrike.
Given that there were only a few folks in our lodge group, we were shocked at the number of hiking groups passing us from the opposite direction. It turned out that these were folks on day-trips from Drake Bay. They had boated to a wet landing at the Ranger Station, and were hiking back toward the beach where we’d landed the previous day. Many were in sandals and tennis shoes and didn't seem to be enjoying the wet, muddy trails. So like National Parks in the US, it seems like the accessible parts of Costa Rican National Parks may not be the best place to find serenity and nature!
After a couple of hours of hiking we arrived at the ranger station, which was a large grass clearing with tables, shelters, restrooms, an office, etc.
There were many groups of folks coming and going, with more boats bringing folks in and fewer taking folks back.
Johan was being super-flexible with us, which was great because the lodge tour was a specific route and distance, which we really didn’t want to do. From the ranger station you could cross a small river and continue, and we watched dozens of folks do it. Most had to remove shoes and socks and then dry off on the other side and re-shoe. Teri had very short rubber boots and would have had to do that. It was already quite warm and very sunny, and we still had the walk back so decided to skip the extended portion of the hike.
We relaxed on the grounds of the ranger station for a while, watching Brown Pelicans, Bare-throated Tiger-Herons, and ultimately a pair of Great Curassows.
We returned on a combination beach/forest trail.
Along the way we saw tons of little Hermit Crabs and had fantastic looks at a Scarlet Macaw feeding on Beach Almonds.
We were the only folks walking on the beach, and we enjoyed the scenery and solitude. During our Peru trip our guide had showed us a battery powered "neck fan" that he used in the hot, humid areas. We bought one and Teri used it during this hike. It has two small computer fans that blow air up onto your face. It is virtually silent and Teri said it made a big difference on this hike.
We arrived back at the lodge beach around 11:30 and the plan was to join the other guests for a beach picnic at 1:00. Teri and I were already hot and tired, and the idea of being out in the sun for another three hours didn’t really appeal. We found that the boat from the snorkeling trip had returned, and one of the ladies was not feeling well and was making arrangements to go back up to the lodge. So rather than partaking of the planned beach picnic we hitched a ride back up to the lodge and enjoyed a nice lunch there in the restaurant. Definitely the smart choice!
We relaxed in the room after lunch, showering and napping before a 3:30 walk with Johan. We walked around the property for a while, finding a noisy group of Spider Monkeys as well as several Charming Hummingbirds.
That doesn't sound like your best travel day of all time. They happen! Hope day 5 was better!
ReplyDeleteIt actually was a good day. We tend to avoid groups and enjoyed our relaxing time in a beautiful area. At 32 inches long, seeing a Scarlet Macaw makes any day a great day!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an impressive large bird!
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