Punta Marenco Lodge:January 5-6

The next site we visited was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen- the Punta Marenco Lodge on the Osa Peninsula!

We left Rio de Suenos after breakfast on the 5th.  On our way to the Osa Peninsula, we stopped near the Batambal archaeological site.  There are the remnants of structures and several 1000-year-old  carved stone spheres there.  My favorite things to see were petroglyphs carved into some rocks at the site- the carvings were faint enough that you wouldn't notice them at first, but became very obvious when water was poured over the stones!

We made our way on to the Sierpe River, where we boarded a boat to complete the next part of our journey.  There are no roads leading to the Punta Marenco Lodge, so it can only be accessed by boat across Drake Bay.  Many trips (such as ours) start on the river and then move across the bay.  We spent an hour making our way past thick mangroves and lots of cool wildlife including Great Blue Herons, White Ibises, Roseate Spoonbills, and lots of crabs.

We arrived at the lodge around lunchtime, and were instantly awe-struck.  The lodge is built on a steep hill overlooking the forest and the ocean, with some truly spectacular views.  Rather than one large building, there are about two dozen 5-person cabins scattered across the hilltop.  We ate lunch while admiring the incredible view of the tropical ocean and a distant island.

We had the chance to do some really cool hiking on trails alongside the ocean and deeper into the forest.  We saw a pair of Scarlet Macaws feeding in a tree above us- they were so amazing!  We also spotted a pod of false killer whales in the ocean, with a flock of frigatebirds and boobies circling over them.  When we hiked further inland we saw some enormous old trees, including a sangre ('blood') tree.  The forest here was really beautiful- it was older and less disturbed than the forest at Rio de Suenos, so there was denser vegetation and larger trees. We woke up to the sound of howler monkeys, and saw several white-faced capuchins in the trees near the restaurant (and one hopeful capuchin looking for food scraps).  I LOVED it here- so much beautiful nature.

We certainly had some adventures here!  Since the lodge is in such a remote location, there's no hot water, and the electricity only runs off a generator for a few hours each evening.   Also, due to a few travel difficulties associated with the lack of roads and some minor miscommunication, we ended up with no suitcases for the night.  Oops!  I kept my contact lenses in an insect collection vial for the night, and in one of the pictures above, you can see that I'm rocking the lovely 'my hair is in a ponytail because I washed it with hand soap and combed it with my fingers last night' look.  As sad I was to have to leave the beautiful Osa Peninsula on the 6th, I was overjoyed to be reunited with my toothbrush that night.

Just as we had arrived by boat, we also departed by boat.  Since there was no dock, the captain had anchored out in the bay to wait for us and, since we had gotten back from our hike later than anticipated, had fallen asleep.  We spent a few minutes debating how we could possibly get his attention (he was far enough out that he couldn't hear us shouting), until I remembered that I had been gifted a very loud whistle for Christmas and that my mom had put it in the backpack.  At the time, I had scoffed at the notion that I would ever end up lost and needing a whistle.  This is my official written apology for doubting my mother.

The Osa Peninsula was incredibly beautiful, and I was so happy to have had the chance to visit it.  It was definitely one of my favorite stops of the trip.  However, our next stop was another favorite place of mine-- we left the sunny beaches behind and boarded the van for a trip up the mountains and into the cool, misty cloud forest!