Corcovado National Park & Reserve, Costa Rica
Would you like to hear the bad news first?You have to wake up really early to eat breakfast and be ready to leave for the park before 7:00 a.m.
Not only that but you may have to carry your own lunch on the trail. And you thought you were coming to Pirate Cove for a nice relaxing holiday!
Oh well, maybe you can sleep for a few minutes on the boat ride.
Now you get the good news.
Corcovado National Park is probably the most isolated and beautiful park in the country.
You can see all four Costa Rican species of monkeys here.
Bring your bird book because there are over 400 species in the area. However, it's not easy spotting them among the dense primary rainforest.
Watch your step so you don't get in the way of the army ants.
Your guide will show you strange and wonderful trees such as the "Leche de Vaca" (which the Indians used to cure ulcers) and the "Walking Tree" (which actually moves several inches each year).
He will explain more or less how this special ecosystem functions, although the greatest experts admit they may know less than half of the total species that live here.
There may be one hundred different types of trees in one hundred meters. At midday you stop to eat on a deserted beach or else swim at San Pedrillo waterfall.
The 4-5 hour walk is not terribly difficult but be prepared for a lot of ups and downs through the uneven jungle. You will be ready for a shower and a snooze when you return to the hotel.