Day 8. Uvita to Drake Bay | Perfect Planet

Submitted by maria on Sat, 17/09/2022 - 12:50

Before leaving Yubarta Lodge we meet a couple, the Chilean and the Costa Rican, and share travel experiences.

Ventanas beach

Veronica is a tour guide, you can contact her on +56971386748.

Our goal today is to get to Sierpe to catch a boat to Drake Bay. On the way we stop at Ventanas beach, one of the most beautiful beaches on the Pacific coast. The access is by track and we have to cross a river. As our car is not a 4x4 we decide to walk down to the beach.

Ventanas beach

Parking costs 3,000 colones in the morning and 2,000 colones in the afternoon. The beach has several beach bars among the palm trees. It is a beautiful place and the weather is nice. A nice place to spend the day.

We continue on the road and stop for petrol in Palmar Norte, a town near Sierpe. Again at 956 colones/litre.

To get to Corcovado National Park you can take two base camps, Puerto Jimenez or the less exploited Drake Bay, we decided to enter through the latter.

In principle our first option was to enter through Puerto Jimenez and do the two-day trekking on foot, spending the night at the Sirena ranger station. Due to the price (+- 350$/pax) and the fact that we are in the rainy season, we gave up this option, although other travellers told us that they did this trail returning by boat and the rain was not a real problem.

Sierpe

To get to Drake you have two options, if you have a 4x4 there is a fairly complicated track on which in the last year they have built several bridges (before it was necessary to cross several rivers) that facilitate access, but remember only with a 4x4. The other option is to take a boat from Sierpe. We chose the boat.

There are two daily schedules for the boat to Drake, at 11.30 am and 3.30 pm and the return from Drake Bay at 7.15 am and 2.30 pm. We left the car in a guarded car park for 6$/day. They have everything very well organised, you just have to go to the pier next to the restaurant Donde Jorge where you can have a drink with cheap prices. The boat takes about an hour to get to Drake.

Drake

Sierpe is a small town south of Puntarenas that serves as a starting point for boat trips to the Osa Peninsula, visiting the largest mangrove reserve in Latin America, wildlife watching or water sports among other activities.

In its main square it preserves one of the country's pre-Columbian petro-spheres, considered a sign of hierarchy in the Buruca ethnic group. Hundreds of these stone spheres have been found between the Sierpe and Terralba rivers, dating from between 400 and 1,500 A.D. Unesco chose this group of pre-Columbian settlements with stone spheres in the Diquís Valley as a World Heritage Site.

Petro-sphere

We board the boat and the adventure begins. The ticket is paid in cash to the captain. There are no cash machines in Drake Bay so remember to bring plenty of cash.

The ride through the canals to the sea is beautiful, you may see crocodiles in the mangroves. The problem is when you get to the sea. You have to cross an area where the waves break against a small reef and depending on the state of the sea it takes more or less time. It took us more than twenty minutes to find our way through the waves. Very exciting.

Once at Drake we disembark on the beach. There is no jetty so remember to bring your swimming costume or quick-drying clothes and shoes that can get wet.

Drake

Drake Bay is a small town with unpaved streets and a lot of charm. It has supermarkets, bars and restaurants and even an airport but no ATM. Petra, the woman who runs our accommodation comes to pick us up in a pick up to take us to the hotel. It's a 10 minute walk but we don't have to carry our luggage. We go with a very nice couple from Navarre with whom we have done the boat trip.

When we checked in Petra booked us breakfast for tomorrow, you can choose between gallo pinto or pancacke with fruit.

Our accommodation is called Corcovado & Drake Inn and it is amazing. It has a swimming pool and breakfast included. Our room has a porch with a hammock and a view of the pool surrounded by a beautiful garden where you can see a lot of birds. Wonderful.

Acommodation

We go to eat and get situated in Drake. We eat next to the beach at Marisqueria Roberto's for ceviche and chicken wings, all delicious for 12,000 colones. The ceviche is marinated raw fish and is very tasty.

Ceviche

We had previously booked the morning tour to Corcovado National Park with the company Top Trails thanks to Petra. We had found out about it and it had very good reviews, so we looked for the office to pay. Our tour is from 6 am to 6 pm with a stop at the Sirena ranger station and then at San Pedrillo with a total trek of about 20km. Price: 150$/pax includes entrance to the park and lunch.

We go to the supermarket (the most expensive one is in the centre of the village, later we discover a cheaper one called Familia Castro in the street of our accommodation) and I leave indignant at the prices, a national yoghurt costs what it costs here twelve.