On January 18th around 2:00 pm we set sails toward Puerto Jimenez, where we spent the night before leaving the next morning the enchanting Gulfo Dulce.
January 18th – Puerto Jiménez
We sailed all day to reach Bahia Drake, where we found a good anchorage in calm waters. The following morning we motored to the close by Isla Caño that is a renown snorkeling and diving site. Unfortunately, while we were anchoring we were approached by some local people who warned us that we could only anchor in front of the ranger station, a quite crowded and choppy place. Nevertheless, we followed the advice and took a swim in the surrounding waters, which turned to be not an extraordinary site for spotting marine life. We feel we missed the best spots for diving that likely you need to get to with the local power boats. Taking the chance of the favorable wind that started blowing we decided to return to Bahia Drake.
January 20th – Isla del Cano
One of our dream places to get to was Bahia Ballena, a marine park where – sometimes in this season – you could be fortunate to spot humpback whales migrating from the South to the North Pacific. Amazingly, the shape of the beach emerging during low tide is resembling a whale’s tail. As we do not seem to be lucky in this respect, we in fact did not spot any whale, but really enjoyed the long walk along the beach and the small surrounding forest as well as the snorkeling in the clear waters of the bay.
January 22nd – Parque Playa Ballena
The following day we sailed to Bahia Dominical, where we did not feel to land with the dinghy because of the significant waves breaking all along the beach; we realized it was not bad to be cautious when we watched the carousel made by two people of a nearby boat who spent a lot of time and effort to overcome the breaking waves with their dinghy. This was also the first instance when we saw surfers enjoying the Pacific Ocean waves.
January 24th – Playa Dominical
January 24th – On our way to Quepos
After a couple of days we continued our journey reaching Quepos, where we anchored in front of a wonderful beach a couple of miles south of the city. We deliberately chose not to go to the marina – though we planned to stay in Quepos for a few days – because of its outrageous costs. It was a great decision as the place where we anchored was safe, calm, and with an easy access to the beach and the nearby village with a short taxi or Uber drive. It was also well positioned to reach the closeby Manuel Antonio Park.
January 24th – Playa Biesanz
The first day, as soon as we landed on the beach we were surprised by a sloth hanging on the tree under which we were securing the dinghy. After walking a few meters, we came across a large group of capuchin monkeys fearless of the number of people laying on the beach. And, while we were reaching the main road to go to Quepos, we spotted a large group of squirrel monkeys “flying” over our heads. We felt we came to an incredible place!
Quepos is a little village with a live atmosphere also due to the number of tourists lazily roaming around. We could enjoy some good food and, most importantly, be able to recharge our gas tank.
The following day we visited the Manuel Antonio Park; this is probably the most visited park in Costa Rica, ideal for families to enjoy wildlife and beautiful beaches. We entered in the early morning and spent the whole day experiencing numerous encounters such as a sloth with a baby, several young capuchin monkeys playing, as well as an adult monkey trying to steel objects from the bag of an oblivious tourist. As a matter of fact, we were alerted by the guardians at the entrance to not leave any bag unattended as monkeys might steel some of its from it.
It was a great day experiencing not only the close contact with the animals but also landscapes of an unparalleled beauty. All together, our stay in Quepos was a very pleasant experience!
January 26 – Squirrel monkey
January 26th – One of the beautiful beaches in the Parque Manuel Antonio
From Golfito to Quepos (160 nm)
On January 18th around 2:00 pm we set sails toward Puerto Jimenez, where we spent the night before leaving the next morning the enchanting Gulfo Dulce.
January 18th – Puerto Jiménez
We sailed all day to reach Bahia Drake, where we found a good anchorage in calm waters. The following morning we motored to the close by Isla Caño that is a renown snorkeling and diving site. Unfortunately, while we were anchoring we were approached by some local people who warned us that we could only anchor in front of the ranger station, a quite crowded and choppy place. Nevertheless, we followed the advice and took a swim in the surrounding waters, which turned to be not an extraordinary site for spotting marine life. We feel we missed the best spots for diving that likely you need to get to with the local power boats. Taking the chance of the favorable wind that started blowing we decided to return to Bahia Drake.
January 20th – Isla del Cano
One of our dream places to get to was Bahia Ballena, a marine park where – sometimes in this season – you could be fortunate to spot humpback whales migrating from the South to the North Pacific. Amazingly, the shape of the beach emerging during low tide is resembling a whale’s tail. As we do not seem to be lucky in this respect, we in fact did not spot any whale, but really enjoyed the long walk along the beach and the small surrounding forest as well as the snorkeling in the clear waters of the bay.
January 22nd – Parque Playa Ballena
The following day we sailed to Bahia Dominical, where we did not feel to land with the dinghy because of the significant waves breaking all along the beach; we realized it was not bad to be cautious when we watched the carousel made by two people of a nearby boat who spent a lot of time and effort to overcome the breaking waves with their dinghy. This was also the first instance when we saw surfers enjoying the Pacific Ocean waves.
January 24th – Playa Dominical
January 24th – On our way to Quepos
After a couple of days we continued our journey reaching Quepos, where we anchored in front of a wonderful beach a couple of miles south of the city. We deliberately chose not to go to the marina – though we planned to stay in Quepos for a few days – because of its outrageous costs. It was a great decision as the place where we anchored was safe, calm, and with an easy access to the beach and the nearby village with a short taxi or Uber drive. It was also well positioned to reach the closeby Manuel Antonio Park.
January 24th – Playa Biesanz
The first day, as soon as we landed on the beach we were surprised by a sloth hanging on the tree under which we were securing the dinghy. After walking a few meters, we came across a large group of capuchin monkeys fearless of the number of people laying on the beach. And, while we were reaching the main road to go to Quepos, we spotted a large group of squirrel monkeys “flying” over our heads. We felt we came to an incredible place!
Quepos is a little village with a live atmosphere also due to the number of tourists lazily roaming around. We could enjoy some good food and, most importantly, be able to recharge our gas tank.
The following day we visited the Manuel Antonio Park; this is probably the most visited park in Costa Rica, ideal for families to enjoy wildlife and beautiful beaches. We entered in the early morning and spent the whole day experiencing numerous encounters such as a sloth with a baby, several young capuchin monkeys playing, as well as an adult monkey trying to steel objects from the bag of an oblivious tourist. As a matter of fact, we were alerted by the guardians at the entrance to not leave any bag unattended as monkeys might steel some of its from it.
It was a great day experiencing not only the close contact with the animals but also landscapes of an unparalleled beauty. All together, our stay in Quepos was a very pleasant experience!
January 26 – Squirrel monkey
January 26th – One of the beautiful beaches in the Parque Manuel Antonio
January 26th – Hawk