We did a day trip with Jairo to Sirena station and it was a fantastic experience. He is for sure one of the most knowledgeable guides in Corcovado and he has an obvious passion for the jungle and the animals. I could not believe how many animals he spotted that I would have never noticed, and he brought a telescope so that everyone can take turns looking. I recommend bringing your own binoculars as well. We saw a baby sloth, a sleeping tapir, a few coatis, a baby crocodile, a baby caiman, agutis, basilisk, and all four kinds of monkeys.
We walked around from around 8-11am, following Jairo as he scouted for creatures. It was not a strenuous walk at all since it was flat and we stopped so many times. Probably 3-4 miles overall. It’s muddy but we didn’t have to walk through any water. DEFINITELY wear closed toed shoes!!! I made the mistake of wearing Chacos at first, and got some painful ant bites, so I changed into sneakers. There were some mosquitos but they weren’t too bad. It was constantly misting but the forest canopy provides a lot of cover. We felt very damp in general especially from the boat ride over.
The boat ride from puerto Jimenez to sirena was a little rough, but I think we had also more weather than usual as it was a bit windy. We got completely drenched on the boat from a downpour so wear your raincoat for the ride. On the way back we saw dolphins and a yellow-bellied sea snake (!!).
In the morning when you get to sirena, you have a wet exit off the boat, and then there’s a station where they check your backpacks to make sure you don’t have any. there are bathrooms with running water right there, and places to rinse your sandy feet.
We ended the hike at sirena station and had an hour to eat lunch and relax. The station was really pretty, and the bathrooms were remarkably nice. The food was great - rice, beans, veggies, meat, Mac salad. I’m a vegetarian so instead of meat they gave me a stuffed roasted tomato. There’s a gift shop that sells cookies and coffee - the coffee was very good!
All in all, loved this tour and had an epic day in Corcovado!