Costa Rica

The Sierpe area of the Osa Peninsula

The Sierpe area lies at the northern end of the Osa Peninsula. The Corcovado National Park is ideal to reach from here by boat. To get to the Osa Peninsula by car or by bus is time consuming and the roads on the peninsula are mostly in poor condition and particularly in wet weather in some cases impassable. Who does not want to fly into the park with a small plane, has to take a hard, at least six to ten-hour walk through steep mountains or along the hot coast. While this promises plenty of adventure and certainly a lot of exciting observations of nature it is not for everyone.

Therefore it is recommended to take a boat from Sierpe to Drake Bay which is about 50 minutes away. From that point runs daily (except Tuesday and Thursday) at 15:30 a shuttle boat along the coast to Puerto Jimenez, with whom you can get directly to the parking area. The return trip is on the same days in the morning between 06:00 and 08:00 clock. Those who drop out at the research and Sirena ranger station, are already in the middle of the Corcovado National Park. Only a few minutes away from the coast there is the station protected in a forest and is the ideal base for exploring the park area. Good walk-trails permit short walks of 20 minutes, as well as more extensive, until several hours tours. What you can see here, rewards the long journey.

The Corcovado National Park is the only area of the country where all four species of monkeys are presented. Furthermore the wasteful, brightly colored red Macaw parrots breed here. Of colorful birds here is already a great variety, including magnificent Quetzals, the Currassows which are as big as turkeys and the rust-prone Guans, toucans or various species of hummingbirds. At the nearby rivers, the Sirena River and the Rio Claro, can also be observed herons, Flycatcher, Kingfisher or hawks. Almost half of the bird species occurring in Costa Rica can be found in Corcovado.

Mammals are also abound here. Thus we saw a herd of about twenty peccaries, rooting through the undergrowth to find something to eat. Only shortly we discovered the second type of pigs which occur here, a group of peccaries. A special attraction is also the tapirs. With a little luck you can observe these nocturnal animals at close range if they rest during the day in a mud hole or in the shade of a tree. Among the approximately 140 types of mammals including anteaters, or wild cats, such as jaguar, puma and ocelot are represented. Amphibian and reptile friends will be delighted when the little poison dart frogs, green tree snakes, or a large boa constrictor discover.

Mammals are also abound here. Thus we saw a herd of about twenty peccaries, rooting through the undergrowth to find something to eat. Only shortly we discovered the second type of pigs which occur here, a group of peccaries. A special attraction is also the tapirs. With a little luck you can observe these nocturnal animals at close range if they rest during the day in a mud hole or in the shade of a tree. Among the approximately 140 types of mammals including anteaters, or wild cats, such as jaguar, puma and ocelot are represented. Amphibian and reptile friends will be delighted when the little poison dart frogs, green tree snakes, or a large boa constrictor discover.

The vegetation, especially in the primary rain forest is characterized by more than 500 species of trees. The largest are up to 80 meters and reach a trunk diameter of up to 3 meters. The abundance of ground cover herbs, shrubs and vines are virtually impossible. The shapes and colors, though dominated by lush greenery, is so enormous that it has seen and experienced at rest once more before the inner eye can pass in review, if you are resting comfortably in the Sirena ranger station, on the porch. Those who staye here at Sirena, will enjoy the sunset with increasingly louder noises in the evenings from the canopy of the surrounding forest.

(Trip report by Richard Gubler, Zurich - Switzerland, April 2009)