We just returned from an unforgettable one week stay at El Remanso in the Osa Peninsula. This was the best vacation my husband and I have ever taken, and here are some of the reasons why.
It all started at the Nature Air terminal in San Jose, as we were waiting for our flight to the Osa (I highly recommend flying, esp. in the rainy season). I consulted the weather forecast in the Tico Times, and it was not promising: rain and thunderstorms for the next week. This alone would usually be enough to ruin my vacation, but upon our arrival at El Remanso, we were greeted by Adriana and Daniel(the owners) like old friends, and this was the way they treated us and every guest that stayed at the lodge for the entire duration of our stay. (a note to remember-we experienced very atypical weather for Costa Rica for the dry season)
We stayed in the La Vainilla cabin, which, for nature lovers such as my husband and myself, was the cabin of our dreams. This is a 2 storey spacious, cabin, overlooking the pacific ocean and the rainforest, and we chose to stay the entire time on the second floor which is completely open to the elements, except a mosquito net over the bed, which we did not even need. I will never forget our first evening as we were sitting down with a drink, taking in the gorgeous view. We heard some rustling in the trees, and we felt incredibly honoured to be the capitive audience of a family of spider monkeys, swinging from tree to tree, little bodies hanging by tails on branches, mothers jumping with babies on backs! This went on for a good 20 minutes, and we knew right then that we had chosen the right lodge, and definitely the right cabin.
Meals are served at a stunning open-air restaurant, where we could usually find the resident nature guide extraordinaire, (Gerardo) looking through his telescope, and commenting on a variety of wildlife sightings, mostly scarlet macaws, red lored parrots, and monkeys. We took the ridge trail hike with Gerardo, and his passion and knowledge for all types of wildlife is infectious, and we learned so much about the rainforest! On our hike, we spotted a poisonous dart frog, and also huge anteater climbing a tree!
We were also fortunate to be staying at El Remanso at the same time that a yoga group was holding a retreat. What can I say? How do you convey the incredible experience of doing yoga as the sun is coming up in the rainforest, with parrots and monkeys in the treetops above you? The yoga teacher was from New York, and she was top notch. We ended up bonding with the yoga group over the week, it added an unexpected delightful edge to our vacation.
The hike down to the beach and back is quite the trek, but worth every sweat bead. And what a beach!! This is a beach out of paradise-you could walk for miles without seeing a soul, the waves crashing the surf, the most puffy cotton like clouds framing the entire scene! Do check out the tide pools at low tide. They are like sitting in your own private hot tub. Amazing!
Do not miss the waterfall! Just before you get to the tide pools, you will come across a little estuary that flows into a river. Just follow the river to the waterfall, and let the water rip over your body!
It's been a week since our return, and I miss El Remanso, and all the great friends we met there, and I really miss Adriana, Daniel, Shanta, Gerardo, Elyer and Michael. This is not your typical package vacation on a touristed beach in the Caribbean, but if you dare to go off the beaten path a bit to El Remanso, I promise you will come back somehow enlightened through the proximity to the natural world, and the deep ecological commitment that Adriana and Daniel bring to this little piece of paradise.
