Waves come straight at us, our captain accelerates out towards the horizon, veers, tries to ride a wave in the right direction, goes back towards the open sea, repeats… I get sprayed, I cheer, I laugh, I grip the side of our vessel: this is nature’s rollercoaster and I'm enjoying every minute of it.
My adventure in Bahia Drake started long before I set foot on its golden sand and soaked up its relentless sun. Costa Rica sees its fair share of backpackers, luxury-seeking tourists, eco-visitors and holidaying families, which made the remoteness of the Osa Peninsula all the more attractive to someone who was already fascinated by the legend of Sir Francis Drake and the possibility of visiting Corcovado National Park, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
In the 16th century, Sir Francis Drake took a trip around the world. Aboard the Golden Hind, this controversial figure—in turns hero and villain, explorer and pirate, slaver and privateer— circumnavigated the world, the first Englishman to do so. In Costa Rica, Drake supposedly stopped at Isla del Caño, but the locals of the bay named after him will tell you he made it to the mainland, the legends mentioning buried treasures, somewhere along the Pacific Coastline of Bahia Drake.
This story is from the May 2020 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
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This story is from the May 2020 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
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