16. Drake Bay - San Pedrillo Ranger Station 5 March



Jungle Beach (not drop off point)

So after my hammock fest for 3 days I decided it was time to get out and about and see what there was on offer in Drake Bay.  The trip to Corcovado National Park that was included was to the San Pedrillo Ranger Station area.  I was very happy to be able to say ‘yes’ this time when Adrian came around to book the tours.  So on Saturday (5 March) I was up early as the departure was at 6.30am.  The early start was due to the days being warm and there is more wildlife activity while it is cooler.  I discovered by having to be at breakfast early, that there are actually delicious cinnamon scrolls freshly baked and still warm on the table.  A perfect start to the day!  There were three of us on the tour along with our guide Manuel plus the boat captain and hand.    It was not even an hour boat trip to our drop off point which was a wet landing on the beach.  Wet landing means jumping out of the boat into the water.  The depth of the water depends how close the boat captain gets you to the shore.  I have to say he did a pretty good job. The tour loosely involved walking from the drop off point through the rainforest and along the beach to get to the Rangers Station.  From there we walk a different route to a waterfall and a swimming hole.  Then we have a hot lunch which has been brought from the kitchen.  Then a little down time which included swimming.  The boat collects us from the Rangers Station (where the boat crew have waited for us) and we head home, ensuring that  we are back in time for happy hour and snacks at 4pm.  



Male Trogon

 So off we trek into the rainforest to make our way to the Ranger Station.  Manuel carries a telescope which is great for seeing everything up close and for taking photos.  He is very good at spotting birds and animals, and also mimicking their calls.  Pretty soon we have spotted a tapir, a variety of birds and monkeys.  To name a few: trogon, macaws, bush turkey (not correct name), spider monkeys, howler monkeys.  We walked from about 7am and arrived at the San Pedrillo Ranger Station around 10.30am.  The time went by in a blink of an eye.  Most of the walk was in the rainforest but we did get to spend some time walking along the beach where we saw the scarlet macaws feeding in the beach almond trees. 

From the Ranger’s Station we walked for about half an hour to a waterfall.  Along the way we see a couple of crocodiles, one Manuel spotted was fully submerged.  Now Im going to tell you something I did that is very unAustralian.  On the way back from the waterfall, down from where we spotted one of the crocodiles (and which was no longer there) was the swimming hole.  Now no sensible Australian would swim in a waterhole where you have seen a crocodile, right?  But I AM a wild woman now so I swam with the rest of the group and sat under the overflow of water (not really a waterfall) for a water massage.  I have to admit I was a nervous “wild woman” while I was doing it though!  Obviously, no harm done.

I have uploaded my best photos of this tour to facebook.  I have included only a few here (due to not finding it easy to load masses of photos on this blog) but if you are interested you can view more photos on facebook.