PAVONES

From Conte, a bumpy potholed road clambers over the hills south of Zancudo and drops to Punta Pilón and Pavones, a legend in the surfing world for possessing one of the longest waves in the world—more than a kilometer on a good day. The waves are at their best April through October, during rainy season, when surfers flock for the legendary very-fast-and-very-hollow tubular left. Riptides are common and swimmers should beware.

The fishing hamlet of Pavones, which is backed by hills clad in rainforest, was served by a single telephone at last visit; it’s in the pulpería next to the soccer field. The fishing for tarpon and snook is good right from shore.

The coast hereabouts is as beautiful as any in the country. South from Pavones, the dirt road crosses the Río Claro and follows the dramatically scenic and rocky coast about five km to the tiny beach community of Punta Banco, at the easternmost edge of Golfo Dulce. About two km south of Punta Banco you reach the end of the road. From here, the Peninsula de Burica sweeps southeast 50 km to Punta Burica along a lonesome stretch of coast within the Reserva Indígena Guaymí, protecting the mountainous lands of the Guaymí people.

In the late 1990s, the region went through a period of land disputes that resulted in the area getting negative press. That’s all over now, thank goodness. In any event, tourists are not affected.

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Tiskita Lodge
Farm. Nature lodge. Exotic-fruit station. Biological reserve. Seaside retreat. Tiskita Lodge (c/o Costa Rica Sun Tours, tel. 506/296-8125, fax 506/296-8133, tiskita@racsa.co.cr, www.tiskita-lodge.co.cr) is all these and more. Overlooking Punta Banco, one km north of the village, Tiskita—the Guaymí name for “fish eagle”—offers sweeping panoramas of the Pacific and the Osa Peninsula. The rustic old lodge is surrounded by 150 hectares of privately owned virgin rainforest, with pools for swimming and a Minotaur’s maze of trails perfect for nature lovers; one leads to the beach (most follow the ridges, in old native fashion); another leads sharply uphill to a series of cascades and pools. Guided birding hikes are offered: a booklet helps bird-watchers identify scarlet-rumped and blue-gray tanagers, toucans, laughing falcons, blue parrots, macaws, etc. Horse rides cost $30 half-day.

Owner Peter Aspinall’s pride and joy is his tropical-fruit farm, which contains the most extensive collection of tropical fruits in Costa Rica. Peter, who was raised locally and farmsteaded the property in the 1970s and has reforested vast acres of former pasture, is also involved in a scarlet macaw release program.

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Tiskita Sea Turtle Restoration Project
Endangered ridley turtles (plus hawksbill and green turtles in lesser numbers) lay their eggs along these shores, predominantly in Aug.–Dec. The locals have long considered them a resource to be harvested for eggs and meat, and the majority of female turtles have had their nests poached. In 1996, the Earth Island Institute began a program to instill a conservation ethic in the local community. It initiated a program to collect and hatch turtle eggs. Locals are now paid with groceries to bring in turtle eggs in good condition. Eggs are placed in a nursery to be incubated and the hatchlings then released directly into the ocean, dramatically increasing their chance of survival. Poaching of nests has been reduced from 100 percent of nests in 1995 to less than 20 percent, and the hatcheries now achieve a better than 80 percent hatching rate for translocated eggs.

Fundación Tiskita operates a small arts and crafts store (open 3–5 p.m. Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday) in Punta Banco.