…Jutting out from the southern coast of Costa Rica, lies the Osa Peninsula, the country’s wildest and most spectacular region. The peninsula is bordered on the east by the pristine Golfo Dulce and on the west, the Pacific Ocean. It is a little more remote than other, more developed parts of the country like Quepos, Dominical or Guanacaste. The Osa is accessible by road, an eight-hour drive from San Jose along the Pan American highway, or 50 minutes by one of the daily commuter flights. It is more lush and tropical here than in northern Costa Rica with spectacular wildlife, deserted beaches and virgin forests. Living here is for people with a little more pioneer spirit who are looking to co-exist with unspoiled nature. Much of the peninsula is still without electricity and four wheel drive is a necessity here. Many of the foreign owned resort homes and small tourist projects operate on solar power, generator, or hydro-power. The population of the entire area is about 5,000 people with approximately 100 foreigners, mostly Americans, living here on the Osa at least part of the year. For those of us that live here, the Osa is what Costa Rica is all about. Not only in terms of landscape and outdoor adventure, but also the culture and the Costa Rican people.

The Osa’s unique bio-diversity is made up of eight different habitats including cloud forest and the largest and most exuberant lowland wet tropical forest remaining in all of Pacific Central America. Species density and geographical location make it totally unique. The Osa is home to Corcovado National Park, the crown jewel of Costa Rica’s National Park system and habitat where many endangered animal and plant species still thrive. The largest trees in Costa Rica are found in the forests of the Osa. Corcovado and the surrounding area has been called one of the most biologically diverse places on earth by none other than National Geographic. Truly a paradise lost, it is a place where jaguars still roam the jungles, Scarlet Macaws fly freely around the towns, and monkeys are found in numbers unmatched in all of Costa Rica and most of Central America. Non "mainstream" tourist’s have discovered this previously little known, rugged paradise and come from around the world to experience the "wild side" of Costa Rica and sample some of the world class fishing, surfing and exploring. The Osa Peninsula is unquestionably Costa Rica’s best kept secret! A naturalist’s paradise and an outdoor adventurer’s dream, Outside Magazine calls it... "The last best peninsula!"

PUERTO JIMENEZ...the gateway to the Osa and originally, a frontier outpost for gold mining, logging and cattle ranching, used to be accessible only by boat. Situated on a small harbor facing the Golfo Dulce, the waterfront provides good anchorage and has a public pier. Ten years ago, the road came in connecting Jimenez to the Pan American highway. Seven years later, main-grid power made the same connection. During those years, tourist began arriving. Many flying in to visit the more remote lodges. Today, tourism and foreign investment are the main source of income for this area. Getting here is not a problem these days. Jimenez now has an improved airport with daily commuter flights from San Jose, and two busses running to and from the capital. There is a daily passenger ferry to Golfito, previously Central America’s Mecca for banana exportation and home to Chiquita Banana. Costa Rica’s largest and best equipped National Parks Service operates out of Puerto Jimenez. Jimenez has a small hospital and a handful of businesses that sell groceries, hardware and building supplies, shops and restaurants. Four wheel drive taxis can take you most anywhere in the peninsula. Today, Internet service, cellular phones and even Direct TV are all available.

CLIMATE...How’s the weather? Warm all year, of course... it’s the tropics! However being a peninsula of land surrounded by water creates a more favorable climate. More so than Guanacaste and even south Florida in the summer for example. The land is green year round with December through April being our "summer". Daytime temperatures are usually in the 90's with little or no rain. The rainy season starts around May in the form of afternoon showers or rain at night. This weather pattern continues until September and October when the heavy rains begin. Daytime temperatures during the rainy season are normally in the 70's and 80's but can dip into the "chilling" 60's at times. An important point is that Costa Rica is not located in the hurricane belt. Some hurricanes will pass as far south as Honduras and on occasion, Nicaragua. At times, we may experience the affects of these catastrophic storms but only in the form of rain and moderate winds.

BUGS:There is an incredible variety of insects in Costa Rica. Over 10,000 species right here in the Osa. However, all the hype about the bothersome types like mosquitoes is quite overrated. It is surprising to most people that they don’t encounter massive swarms of these insects like they do in many parts of the Midwestern United States. Snakes and lizards are also plentiful but you don’t see the majority of them unless you are out in the habitat at night or disturbing their hiding places in the daytime.

TOPOGRAPHY:We can describe topography and landscape in three ways:

FLATLANDS: This covers most all of the beaches and extends to the lower hills. Today, most of the flat lands are cattle farms, rice farms, and tree plantations. Most properties access their water from wells. Secondary roads are generally better as they are easier to maintain.

LOWER HILLS: We call this the fist level access with semi-improved secondary roads. Originally used by loggers and miners, these roads usually follow the ridges going up to various farms and valleys. We begin to see views of the magnificent Golfo Dulce or the Pacific Ocean depending on which side of the peninsula you are. Some of the farmers still live off the land grazing cattle and walk or ride a horse to the nearest village for supplies. The landscape is broken hills with some flat areas, and are a combination of hilly pasture with secondary and primary forest. Roads are still reasonable to maintain but require more maintenance than the flat lands. Nearby rivers supply gravel so material for road improvements is not a problem. Machinery for oadwork is available locally. The government has begun to improve some of these roads and vehicle access is slowly getting better. These lands are the best value and most reasonable to develop and live. Farm sizes are anywhere from 10 acres to 200 acres with the average size being around 50 acres. Best areas are Dos Brazos, Agujas and Canaza, about 30 minutes from Jimenez.

UPPER HILLS: The least accessible. Roads are normally summer time access only but can be improved for year round access in some areas. The best views, waterfalls, and the densest forest is up here. Some of the views along the upper most ridge of the peninsula are quite spectacular where you have a view of both sides, the gulf and the ocean. Land prices are less expensive per square area but most of the farms are large in size… minimum 100 acres up to 1,000 acres. These upper farms, still privately owned make up what we call the "buffer zone" as they connect with the main biological corridor to the par.