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I am going to Costa Rica either this summer or the next with my two cousins. We will be staying at the Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge - anyone been there? If so, how was it? We are going on our own, and hiking and herping on their land and the surrounding forests, possibly traveling to Corvacado. No planned itinerary, just going to go with the flow. Probably going to go herping and birding most of the time, take a trip to the local village for a little culture, and maybe do some fun sports like rapelling, kayaking, etc. What are the most common herps/birds/animals to find down there? Any tips whatsoever? Im pumped for the trip - we have been saving up for a long time. We are flying down to San Jose, then taking a charter plane or taxi to a certain point, then getting picked up by tractor or horseback to go to the lodge. Just lemme know, you can post or shoot me an email at dmlove660@yahoo.com

Thanks
David
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David and Kevin

KDRKreatures.com
Exotic Reptile Breeders - Specializing in Bearded Dragons

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I haven't been fortunate enough to go but a friend just got back and there were two species of dart frogs that were everywhere. Tree frogs and giant millepedes were other common finds.

That lodge is very VERY upscale...its great but you really pay for it. There are a lot of other lodges that are a lot less expensive but are still very very comfortable..lookout inn and el remanso are two. The Osa Peninsula is an amazing place in general...you'll find some amazing animals.
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- Happy herping!

KE

a few tips/local animals....you'll likely not see any tapirs unless you go deep into corcovado. You'll be on Cabo Matapalo, and the forests in that area are excellent. Going to corcovado wont change much unless you hike all the way into the the los patos or sirena ranger stations. You'll likely see terciopelos(watch everywhere you step they are amazingly cryptic) you'll see scads of basilisks, norops sp.(anoles) maybe a few green iguanas. Keep your eyes peeled for black spiny iguanas on the beaches. Scarlet macaws are everywhere. You'll see(and hear) howler monkeys, and capuchin monkeys. though they tend to stick around corcovado, you might see central american squirrel monkeys(EXTREMELY endangered) and spider monkeys. Watch out for peccaries, they are feisty. You COULD see a sea turtle, there are usually a few odd ones nesting this time of year. Cats are seldomly seen, though they do live on cabo matapalo. go to the laguna pejeperrito near Carate to see tons and tons of american crocodiles. watch out for army ants and acacia ants. dont put your hands anywhere you dont know there isnt an eyelash viper or ants. ive been stund by most of the ant species down there and the acacia ants hurt like crazy, and make your hands tingle. look in the streams for phyllobates vittatus, endemic to the Osa, and dendrobates auratus. You might find dendrobates granuliferous but they are a bit harder to find. there are hundreds of birds, you WILL see macaws, toucans, and amazon parrots....and many many others if you can ID birds at all. dont pick up marbled milk frogs, their poison will numb your hands. you might see some other odd mammals like sloths, tamanduas and tayras but the herps are easier to find than mammals. Watch out for bull sharks, they swim in freshwater to give birth, even miles upstream...they do attack humans. Swimming in the ocean is NOT a good idea on the pacific coast of the Osa, or in any deep murkey rivers. the crocodiles are for the most part not man eaters, but the bull sharks are. Basically, always watch where you step, never grab any snakes, and never walk barefoot, and always carry a flashlight...if you're on the Osa you'll find stuff, thats unquestionable. What you'll find is the question...its all good. GOOD LUCK.
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- Happy herping!

KE

I've stayed at El Remanso, Lookout Inn, and been to Sirena and Los Patos several times. Bosque is very luxurious, and you pay for more than what a herper needs(unless you love massages). You should ask Philip, their resident guide to take you out. There are terciopelos, there as well as a resident mussurana that stays along one of the streams(I've not seen it, but Philip told me about it).

El Remanso is excellent, in fact I'm taking a group of 8 herpers there in 3 weeks, and another college group later in August.

If you want to go to an excellent(Tico owned) lodge higher up in the highlands, check out Rio Nuevo Lodge....its great. I've caught several terciopelos there, seen troops of up to 60 squirrel monkeys there, scads of Phyllobates vittatus; saw both the 3-toed and Hoffman's Two-toed sloth.

If you plan on going to Sirena, be prepared for the hike....do it early AM, and plan for the tides, or you'll be stuck on Punta La Chancha or Salsipuedas.

If you want some more info, my webpage has some trip descriptions. WWW.matabuey.com. Click on Herp Travel and follow the links.