Sunday, June 22, 2008

We woke up bright and early the next morning after a good night’s sleep. We had a great breakfast at Hotel Villa Bonita with the best gallo pinto we had on the trip. Charlotte and Genevieve amused themselves playing with Felipe, Humberto the proprietor’s two year old son. Charlotte sang “Head, shoulders, knees and toes” and Humberto appreciated the English lesson for his son. The lack of shampoo in the bathroom had made me concerned that we would encounter the same thing at Bosque del Cabo, so after breakfast we went to the market and bought some.  I asked the clerk (in Spanish) what would be best because I wasn’t familiar with the brands, and she picked out one.  When we got back to our room I read the label “No frizz”!  A comment on my lack of a blow dryer I suppose. The cab arrived to take us to theairport, where we sailed through the luggage limitations (27 pounds, but I think they gave us a break because the kids were so small) and boarded our plane. It was a 12-seater, but there was only 10 on the flight. We got great views of the countryside and coast, and then landed in Puerto Jimenez.  Bosque del Cabo had sent two jeeps to come get us (the other people were also staying there) and we got the chattier driver. He asked us all about ourselves and filled us in on what we were seeing and it was a very interesting, if bumpy drive.

When we arrived at Bosque, we were greeted with a cold fruit drink and our choice of lunch from the menu. So nice! We had a wonderful lunch and then because our cabina still wasn’t ready we took the suggested little hike behind the restaurant to the tropical garden.  Within minutes we saw howler, whitefaced and spider monkeys as well as a pair of Great Currasows, which are big interesting birds, and then when we were crossing the suspension bridge we saw a wood stork (the first ever sighting there) down below.  Crazy, I had never seen so much wildlife so quickly before. By now our room was ready sowe checked in. What a nice little place!  We had an upstairs sleeping loft with two beds, perfect for the girls, along with a king bed for us. There was a little sitting area as well as a niceporch and patio that looked over the ocean. Truly heaven!  Once we got settled in, I dragged the girls to go check out the grounds and we watched an entire troop of coatis under the mango trees, as well as a few agoutis (large guinea pigs or small capybaras). We also saw a pair of scarlet macaws fly by. Genevieve discovered the mamon chino fruit, and Charlotte ate a star fruit, which amazingly she did not find too sour. We stopped by the front desk to book a tropical forest tour the next day, and then went swimming in the pool–brrr, cold! While we were at the pool, Philip the guide came to tell us that he wouldn’t take us on the tour the next day because it would be over the girls’ heads. As we were the only people on the tour, I asked if it could be simplified to hit their level. No. Could we book another tour more appropriate for them? No. The upshot of it was, he wasn’t taking us on a hike. I do wonder why Bosque del Cabo has as their resident naturalist someone who clearly doesn’t know how to deal with children. After dinner we were amazed to see the birds all flying around in front of our cabina and pelicans actually roosting on our tree. (see moviehere). And then back to the restaurant for a wonderful dinner. Genevieve was proud to show off the gap where earlier in the day a tooth had been.  A woman asked her how it came out, and Charlotte said “I hit her in the face by accident”. That brought a laugh. After dinner when the girls were in bed and the lights were off, we noticed the fireflies!  I think I could stay in this place forever.

<<Previous | Next>>