San Jose to Playa Cativo

I booked the taxi early thinking that it may take some time with traffic to reach the airport. Although the roads were busy (even at 05.30) we made good time and it only took 25 minutes. I was apprehensive about the travel arrangements for this part of the trip as I have no e-tickets – just the itinerary and flight numbers. I need not have worried. The airline I am flying with is Sansa. The have a brand new fleet of Cessna Caravans and a spanking new hub next to the International Airport. I realised last night that the size of my suitcase might be a problem. Thanks Trailfinders for not mentioning, anywhere in your information, the baggage restrictions. Fortunately this was not a problem either. I just had to pay $8 excess baggage. Yes you read it right. Just $8!!

There was a little shop and cafe bar once I’d cleared security and ALL seats in the lounge had USB charging docks. Impressive. I would definitely recommend Sansa if you are ever flying around in Costa Rica.

My flight is to Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. From there I will be driven to the dock to take a boat across the bay to my hotel – Playa Cativo. It is a beautiful day and the views from the plane are brilliant and it is easy to see the diverse terrain of the country.

We had a very unstable take-off at San Jose. It was very windy and the plane was buffeted for a few minutes. Never a totally pleasant experience. It was just under a one hour flight to Puerto Jimenez. This time we had a very smooth landing. As I stepped off the plane the heat and humidity blasted me. I was greeted by Paola from Playa Cativo Hotel. We took a short car ride and then walked to the pier to board the little boat that would take me across the beautiful bay to Playa Cativo. The jetty was rustic to say the least and somehow I had to climb aboard with rucksack and camera and nothing much to hold onto. The skipper could not help because he was holding the boat to the jetty and blocking my entrance!

The boat trip took about an hour but we did have to stop en route as we spotted a couple of dolphins. They were close to the boat but never surfaced for long enough to take a good picture. I then caught my first glimpse of the hotel. An ideallic setting, immaculate grounds backed by lush rain forest.

We moored up to a rickety makeshift boarding platform and then I was escorted across the stony shoreline to the hotel. My room was not ready so I was given a drink and fruit while I waited. It turns out that the fruit was a bad idea. It contained mango which has only ever given me a problem once before. This time my throat started burning and tickling. I had an uncontrollable coughing fit for quarter of an hour. What I needed was my anti-histamines which were in my suitcase that I did not have. I was offered copious glasses of water and eventually the tickling subsided. I have decided not to eat mango for the rest of my stay here. When I had recovered I had time to take a few pictures of the beautiful grounds.

I was shown to my room which is large and open on three sides. At night mesh shutters are drawn across but during the day it feels like you are just on a balcony with a wonderful breeze. All the sounds of the forest envelop you.

After lunch I had a lazy afternoon. I strolled through the forest along the back of the beach and went for a swim to cool off. The sea here is very warm, more like a warm bath so I am not sure it helped that much. On my way back I spotted an agouti in the foliage.

It was then time for a pre-dinner G&T to watch the sunset.