The Osa Peninsula
Chacarita to Rincón
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Access to the Osa Peninsula is via a single road that runs along the east coast to Puerto Jiménez (the only town of significance) and Cabo Matapalo before curling west to dead-end at Carate, on the border with Corcovado National Park.
The turnoff from the Pan-American Highway (Hwy. 2) is at Chacarita, about 32 kilometers southeast of Palmar and 26 kilometers northwest of Río Claro (the turnoff for Golfito). There’s a gas station at the junction.
The road to Puerto Jiménez is paved as far as Rincón, 42 kilometers south of Chacarita (beyond Rincón the road is badly potholed and either hellaciously muddy or dusty, depending on the weather). Here you begin to get your first sense of the cathedral-like immensity of the rainforests of the Osa Peninsula.
The Neotropic Foundation Tropical Center (tel. 506/2253-2130, www.neotropica.org) at Agua Buena de Rincón has forest trails and guided hikes, including a “Night Walk” at Los Patos, plus kayaking.
Accommodations and Food
The Cabinas Golfo Dulce (tel. 506/775-0244, $18 s, $22 d), in Rincón, has seven basically furnished rooms with verandas in a two-story lodge. Five rooms have shared bath; the rest have private bath but cold water only. It offers boat tours.
A lovely newcomer run by a delightful Tico family, Cabinas del Mirador (tel. 506/823-6861, $20 pp including breakfast), midway between Chacarita and Rincón, straddles a ridge with glorious views over both the gulf and the forested Osa Peninsula. Five cozy, charming if simple wooden cabins with kitchenettes, and meals served in a homey family setting make this a winner. It has a small pool.
I also recommend the Swiss-and-Tico-run Suital Lodge (tel./fax 506/826-0342, www.suital.com, $32 s, $48 d high season), between Chacarita and Rincón. This simple but pleasing wooden lodge has hillside vistas down over the gulf. Its three spacious, cross-ventilated and cross-lit wooden cabins sit on stilts and have ceiling fans, mosquito nets over beds, small terraces with rockers, and hot-water showers. Meals are served, and box lunches are prepared. There are four kilometers of trails, including to the beach.
In similar vein, Forest Reserve Lodge Ave del Mar (tel./fax 506/812-7263, $62.50 s/d standard, $89 deluxe with a/c) was a promising work in progress at last visit. It appeals to nature lovers with its 30-hectare reserve with trails, plus opportunities for horseback riding and kayaking. Run by a friendly Dutchman and his daughter, it has three bungalows with cable TV (two with ocean views), one being deluxe.
The Neotropic Foundation (tel. 506/2253-2130, www.neotropica.org) has a lodge with 14 clean private rooms plus a restaurant at Agua Buena de Rincón. Trails lead into the forest.
When 
Villa Corcovado (tel. 506/8817-6969, fax 506/2770-8061, www.villacorcovado.com, $289 s, $376 d high season), at Rincón, opened in 2005 it set a new standard for the Osa Peninsula. The eight luxurious villas stair-stepping a hillside boast gorgeous furnishings in a combination of hardwoods and rich, tropical colors, plus precious views from the verandas overlooking a pool sensuously floodlit at night. The gourmet restaurant utilizes fresh produce from the organic garden, and gourmet picnic baskets are prepared.
© Christopher P. Baker from Moon Costa Rica, 6th Edition
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