Estación Sirena, Corcovado

Two days and the species count was somewhere above 150 when I stopped counting — scarlet macaws, tapirs, coatis, three monkey species in a single morning, fer-de-lance on the trail. The ranger station bunkhouse is basic but functional. The park fee and ranger escort cost are high but correct given the conservation value. Nothing comes close.

The wildlife is everything described and more. But the experience is brutal in a way I wasn't fully prepared for even having read extensively. The humidity is 90% at all times. The insects don't stop. The trail involves deep river crossings at high tide. The bunkhouse is extremely basic. For the right person this is perfect. I am not that person.

Jaguar prints in the sand at the high tide line when I walked the beach at dawn. Not a blurry photograph — clear, fresh, large prints three metres from where I was standing. This is what Corcovado offers that nowhere else does. The most intense natural experience of my life. I was not adequately prepared for what it actually is.

The most demanding thing I did in Central America. The coastal trail in full humidity is punishing — 35°C, no shade on the beach sections, biting insects at the river crossings. The wildlife is real and extraordinary but the physical toll is real too. Go fit, go prepared, go with a guide. Not a casual adventure.