A Epic day of fishing on board the Magic Moon Quepos, Costa Rica

 

We got to the dock in Quepos at 7:30am to board the Magic Moon for our day of fishing, Mike is our Captain along with 2 mate, Luiz & Baynair.

We went out 47 miles off shore, dropped lines 9:00am,

Casa Arenosa Beachfront living in the heart of Cabo Matapalo, Costa Rica

Our next house is located in Cabo Matapalo which is at the southern tip of the Osa Peninsula. This is where we first came 11 years ago which evoked both our love for Costa Rica and for Nature. It was a special time and mind opening just how much is around you if you take the time to stop, listen, and really see what is right in there in front of you. Being able to rent a house on the beach deep in the jungle for a few nights is something we have been looking forward to ever since.

 The drive from Sierpe to Puerto Jimenez was once again surprisingly easy. The roads are paved, GSP was right on target, of course it really isn't hard to find with only one road to travel on. It took us 3 hours. Once in town we stopped at the BM food store to get enough stuff for 5 nights, we will be cooking most of our meals, not many places to eat and not to sure of the roads.

Fully clothed and out of shape

 George & Jill each entered the rainforest with everything they owned & lots of wine for 4 nights of survival with no internet, no restaurants, no roads, no people.

Night time Safari along the Sierpe River

Our next excursion that Guillermo arranged for us was a night time river tour. It was fantastic!

Ready for a nights adventure - This would be considered dressed up in the jungle.

Our ride for the night

The boat picked us up at the docks at 4:30pm.

David

Our guide today was David along with the boat captain. As we went down the river past town we stopped along the way viewing different birds, mammals, trees, and reptiles. David was so knowledgeable.

A day trip to Cano Island, Costa Rica

The howlers woke us this morning at 3:30am. This was the first I have heard them since leaving Puerto Viejo so it was a happy sound. Listening to the jungle wake up in the morning is something very special maybe not for everyone but I sure do love it.

The house has no coffee maker. You make coffee the tradition way they do in Costa Rica by using a Chorreador. It consisted of an unvarnished wooden frame with a round hole at the top where a wire rimmed cloth filter or strainer was placed.

.  You put the grounded coffee in the bag, pour boiling water slowly into it and let it drop into the cup. They have been doing one cup coffee long before Keurig and 10 times better.

Guillermo has set us up on a snorkeling trip to Cano Island for the day. The boat picked us up at the boat dock at 8:30am.

 The guide today is Stanley along with the boat captain and 8 other people. The trip down the Sierpe River to the Ocean takes about one hour.

A few of the Snakes we have encountered during our trip in Costa Rica

So far while we have been here we have encountered 3 snakes. The first was in Cahuita National Park.  A viper, which are poisonous. We kept our distance.

Then at the house in Sierpe, George went to check out the views from the plate form and nearly stepped on a tree snake. He wanted nothing to do with us and quickly went back into the tree out of sight. We haven’t been close to that tree since.

Than on our morning hike to the fruit gardens we were walking down the steps, George leading the way, walks right over one which I see right before I do the same. It was a Boa. Not a big one but a Boa Constrictor all the same. Last time I saw one was in my bed at tent camp in Corcovado 11 years
ago.

Going off the Grid - Sierpe, Costa Rica

The next part of the trip we are staying in the Osa Peninsula at 2 different locations. The first on the Sierpe River. We have rented a house you need to take a boat from the town of Sierpe to a boat dock in the middle of nowhere and then walk to the house. There are no food stores outside of town, no restaurants other than town and the only way to and from town is by boat.  All that being said we needed to plan meals for the next 4 nights.  After checking out of our Villa in Dominical we stopped at what George has deemed the best food store in all off Costa Rica, The BM in Uvita.

It has everything we want, wine, good looking vegetables, fruit, meats, chicken, and even French brie.

The drive from Dominical to Sierpe was once again surprisingly easy, paved roads all the way down and the GPS took us right there. It is always nice when I do not have to be in charge of directions.

We are meeting Guillermo at the office in town to take us to the house.

Great Restaurants in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

There are lots of reasons we love Puerto Viejo, the nature, the beaches, the people, and the restaurants. This small area many wonderful places to eat there is not enough days to try all of them. We started off the trip going to 3 of our favorites, El Refugio, Stashus Con Fuison, and Koki beach.

El Refugio is a small intimate place located in the jungle right near our house.  We had eaten there twice our last trip and were looking forward to having dinner there again.  It was just as amazing as our first trip. I had Tuna which was cooked to perfection. Octopus was a special that night and we tried it as well. The skirt steak was so tender and full of flavor. This is definitely one of the best in the area. Reservations recommended.

We also had dinner at Stashus Con Fuison twice and I couldn’t wait to return remembering all the flavors in the food there. They serve loco spicy chips which unfortunately they were out of the night we went.  George had the curried shrimp which was very tasty. I had the shrimp in Tamarind sweet & spicy sauce which was good but I thought a little too heavy on the sauce. 

Colonia beach - Uvita, Costa Rica

We took a ride one day down to Uvita and went to Colonia beach which is part of the National park and cost $6.00 per person to get in. It is worth the price. The beach was just beautiful, sandy bottom, just a couple people, and very good for swimming.

 The beach was so alive.

 Any idea what this is below?

Dominical, Costa Rica

The drive from San Jose to Dominical was very easy compared to what I remember. The highway is all paved all the way down and no OMG bridges. Things sure have changed in 9 years.  

 The next couple of days we are staying at Canto Del Mar Villa which overlooks Dominicalito beach.

It is a spectacular view and great sunsets.

Getting a few supplies

Time to say goodbye to our friends and start the next leg of our trip. After dropping them off at the airport we headed to Walmart for a few supplies. I really wanted to find beach chairs but all they had were camping chairs and they were too expensive. We stocked up on wine, some food, and a few other items we needed. It was a nice Walmart and had many employees. I have actually never saw so many people working in one store. Every aisle had at least one person working in it. One aisle I counted 6 employees all busy doing something.

Oh no photo's aloud in the store. I got reprimanded in Spanish. Who knew?  

  Next stop Dominical.