I have always been fascinated by the wilderness. While road tripping through the U.S.A., I wanted to explore the remote Boundry Waters to the north. When RV'ing from North to South Island in New Zealand, Marlborough Sounds was a highlight of the trip. And on my first backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, the isolated mountains of Northern Laos caught my attention. So when the idea to go to Panama to visit Ashley, a friend who moved down there, popped into my head, I pulled out a map to search for the nearest wilderness.

Since I was probably going to be flying into San Jose and traversing my way overland to cross the Costa Rican/Panamanian border, I set my sights on the wilderness rainforest of Parque Nacional Corcovado, the “Amazon of Costa Rica.” I decide to tackle the logistics of this possible adventure in two missions...

Mission #1: Find Some Real Life Experiences

Quite a few of my globe drifter friends had gone through Central America recently, but in regards to the Park itself, there was one very real prospective. Ashley, my friend in Panama, had been living relatively near to the Costa Rican border for several months. I knew that she'd already done a few border crossings for her visa run, and chances were she'd probably spent some time in the area there. I decide to ask her.

“Oh, yeah, I think I've been there,” she says. “That was a few years ago, though, when I was living in Costa Rica with Sayward and the boys. Why? Are you thinking of checking it out?”

“Yeah,” I respond. “Depends though...I'm still doing the research. What did you guys do there?”

“Um, I think we drove in, walked around for a little bit and walked up to the entrance or something,” she answers. “I can't really remember exactly. I know it was still pretty beautiful, though. One thing I do remember is there were a ton of parrots flying around. You know, those colorful macaw parrots? There was a whole flock of them.”

Hmmm...exotic wildlife? That sort of catches my attention. “Really?” I say, “And what did the park look like there?”

“From what I remember, it was rainforest, jungle and beaches. Pretty remote wilderness feel.” There's that word, wilderness. I'm caught. “Anyway, if you decide on going there, let me know,” she continues. “I might be down for meeting up with you there and trek around a bit or whatever.”

“Yeah, for sure,” I say. “Will do.”

Mission One? Semi-accomplished. Okay, so it isn't really that much of a real-life experience, but the potential is there, and the search results did come with a bonus: Trekking partner number one? Found. 

Mission #2: Do My Research

I go online and Google Corcovado National Park. A long list of links pop up... infocostarica.org, moon.com, even wikitravel.org, all have information about “the longest stronghold of Pacific coastline primary forest.” I take my time to do some research.

The entire 103,290 acres of national park sits on a piece of land called the Osa Peninsula, which juts out from the Costa Rican mainland into the Pacific Ocean. Not only is it the largest of the country's national parks, but it also takes up about a third of the landmass of the Osa Peninsula. There are multiple habitats, from mangrove swamps to montane forests, all of which harbor within their boundaries a huge variety of plants and animals; birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Apparently, National Geographic referred to it once as “the most biologically intense place on earth.” Some of the wildlife that peak my interest? All four Costa Rican monkey species, crocodiles and caimans, jaguars and pumas, and notorious tribes of peccaries.

Some logistical facts to consider: There are two main seasons...the wet, which runs from December to April, and the dry, which goes from May to November. There are 3 main entrances into the park, all of which have stations: San Pedrillos in the north, Los Patos to the east, and La Leona from the south, and the most common villages/towns for access to these entrances/stations are Agujitas, Las Palmas and Carate respectively. You can camp at these park stations for a fee, as well as book basic accommodations at Sirena, which is the Ranger station in the very heart of the rainforest.

There are countless trails that crisscross throughout the park, some that can be done in a few hours, others that would take the better part of a day. From what I find, it looks like I'm going to have to put aside at least three days to experience what this wilderness has to offer.

And remember: there are no restaurants, no hotels, not even a basic beverage cart. This is a genuine trek through the wilderness, so you'll have to pack in your own food and water for the duration of your trek there. The ranger station at Sirena will prepare a very simple meal for you while you're there, for a pretty penny of course, and you have to give them a heads up in advance if you want to go that route. Otherwise, plan on being self sufficient.

And one last note on research: Pack out what you pack in. There are no garbage cans.

In short, I figure that Corcovado National Park sounds like a great idea. I decide to call up Scott, a fellow globe drifter, to tell him this new undertaking that I have up my sleeve. He's a regular nomad, and he's always up for an adventure. I catch him in the middle of making a pot of spicy curry quinoa and vegetable stew with fresh saffron from his recent trip to Egypt.

“Costa Rica, huh...I went there a few years ago,” he says. “So what's the plan?”

I fill him in on all the logistics of flying in, possible transportation ideas, places to stay along the way, and of course the national park itself.

“Sounds awesome,” he says. “And that's by Panama, right? So you plan on checking out Ash while you're down there?”

“Yeah, I'll just cross over from there and make my way to Guarare,” I say. “And actually, she kind of said she was interested in trekking Corcovado, too.”

“Really?” he says, clearly interested. “Well count me in, J, that sounds like a plan.” I smile, stoked to hear his response. Trekking partner number two? Found.

I brace myself for another wilderness adventure.

For more in depth information on how to plan your own trek here, check out this site @ http://corcovadoguide.com/index.htm

Coming Up: A 5-Part weekly series called "Trek Through the Wilderness" chronicling our time spent sloshing away through the wilderness of Corcovado National Park, so please SUBSCRIBE and stay tuned!

And now we'd like to ask you: What do you imagine when you think of the wilderness?

"This evening an ancient breeze smoothes across my face, as I witness the passing of a lonely felucca lazily floating by down the Nile. Its sail bows in humility at the brilliant beauty of the setting Egyptian sun." 

"As the ship passes silhouettes of date palms on the shore, the tall white curvature of its sail mirrors a reflection in the slow moving waters of the Nile, as if two ships were affectionately sailing down the river as one."

"The sun sets. The boat’s reflection dims. Suddenly, the emergence of stars begins to sparkle upon the waters from the heavens above. The domination of the Egyptian sun has now given reprieve and gone elsewhere." 

As the light begins to fade like evanescent vapor, Richard strains his eyes to write down the seemingly ineffable emotion of this day’s experience. The felucca captain, a mahogany hued Egyptian in his twenties, swings the main mast of the felucca starboard. He heads for the east side of the Nile, to find a quiet place for the night. 
  

In Cairo two nights before, Richard had boarded the midnight train bound for Aswan. He endured a sleepless night scrunched up in a sleeping berth designed for a munchkin from Oz. All night he lay there, hour after hour, listening to the clickety-clack sounds of the ram shackled train, that sounded as if it was struggling to hold on to toil worn tracks. 

Just when exhaustion had tranquilized all discomfort, the irritating noise of the train began to sound soothing, and his heavy drowsing eyelids finally closed into tranquility, the train porter knocked on  the door, announcing arrival in Aswan.

7:30 a.m. The Egyptian sun is already tormenting the inhabitants of the little earthenware village. Richard steps off the wooden porch of the train station onto the dirt boulevard of the city square of Aswan. His brand new leather boots give rise to cloudlets of dust with each step he takes. 

Suddenly a horse driven carriage-taxi abruptly passes by, causing a miasma of dust to billow up into his face. The ancient earth and sand disorient his path for an anxious moment. He strikes his perspiration stained fedora across his leg in an attempt to remove a layer of ancient terracotta dust. Spreading his fingers through his brown sweat-lathered-hair, he scans the panorama and returns his hat to his humidified head.

Crossing the street to the south side of the square, he ascends up a winding stairway of several steps to a palm leaf shaded rooftop café. Weary from a sleepless night, he hopes to immerse himself into copious amounts of rich, powerfully caffeinated, Egyptian coffee and ask for directions to the "Aswan Moon", a floating restaurant on the Nile, the place where felucca captains frequently haunt. 

It takes Richard thirty minutes to sidle through a gauntlet of hucksters peddling rides aboard feluccas or horse carriages. Finally he steps down onto to the “Aswan Moon,” a floating oasis of refuge on the Nile River. Sitting down close to the waters edge, he sips a cup of spiced tea and watches the ancient Nile River, older than Methuselah, flow by. 

While lost in a daydream of what it would be like to be a Pharaoh with his own pyramid, a shadow from above besieges him. Looking up to the origin of the eclipse of light, a turban clad man with eyes akin to black pearls hovers above him. The man’s broad smile flaunts teeth that resemble white nuggets of porcelain. 

“Salaam my good friend, Salaam.” He ceremoniously bows. 

As he reaches out to greet the biblically festooned character with a handshake, the man responds to the gesture of greeting, by enthusiastically embracing Richard’s clasp with both hands. “My name is Jamaica, Captain Jamaica.” He introduces himself. 

“I’m Richard. I…” 

“I am sorry that I am late my good friend.” He begins to apologize before Richard can finish his greeting. “My beautiful Nubian wife prepared a breakfast fit for a King, so I just had to linger.” 

“Don’t worry about it Captain, I…” 

“Do you have a wife my friend?” The man interrupts him. 

“Uh, well I...” He's a little confused at the relevance of the Captain's question. 

“Oh when you do marry, marry a Nubian woman. They are worth many camels my friend; and she will treat you like a Pharaoh,” the man advises him. 

Before Richard can utter a response to his advice, Captain Jamaica continues on, quickly admitting to having the most excellent five felucca sailing vessels on the Nile. After the greeting niceties and the Captain’s sales persuasions, he pays Captain Jamaica for his passage down the Nile and to buy water and provisions for the three day sail. 

In addition to food and water, Richard makes a special request for a bottle of good Tennessee whiskey. The Captain assures him that he knows of a secret place where a bottle of the American elixir has been hidden, just for a special occasion such as this one. 

“Of course my good friend,” He prayerfully bows. “Such a special request as this requires, let us say, a more generous payment of appreciation, in order for me to reveal that secret place.” He then smiles the biggest most humble and worthy smile he is capable of, with as many of his porcelain white teeth showing as is humanly possible. 

Shaking Richard's hand once again, Captain Jamaica again bows ceremoniously, and then departs to arrange the supplies for a three-day felucca adventure down the Nile.

Your legs are cramped, your neck sore, your throat is dry and you're usually either too hot, or too cold. And ever since most of the big boys stopped in-flight meal services, things seem to be spiraling even further downward on the pleasure scale. But regardless of the discomfort involved with this necessary part of travel, for the love of it all, we are usually more than willing to step on that plane and put ourselves through this ordeal. 

And yet there's almost always a silver lining to everything, even in regards to this darker aspect of globe drifting. Believe it or not, there are ways that we can find relative happiness, although it's still just a glimmer of comfort, when it comes to flying. 

After taking into account my personal flying experiences, as well as reading forums and websites online to see what works for others, I've managed to narrow these various ways down to a select few. Here are 3 simple tips that could help you have a more enjoyable ride.

My First and Foremost Favorite of them all...
Tip #1 - Protect Yourself from Dehydration

Most 'tips lists' will save the best tip for last. I love this tip so much that it has to go first. So at the risk of being called names, it's very important to keep yourself moisturized. Yes, I said it...moisturized.

Airplane cabins are dry. The higher you ascend, the more dehydrated your body becomes. The air that is circulated through the cabin, albeit cold, will suck the moisture right out of you.

Take preventative measures by carrying on a few key items with you. Lotion to keep your skin happy, lip-balm to prevent cracking, a bottle of water or liquids to drink regularly (this can be refilled by flight attendants), and my favorite...eye-drops. Trust me, your bloodshot, dry eyes will thank you. Also, if your flight is extra long, you could bring your own toothpaste and toothbrush. Using these when you're halfway there will help freshen you up and keep you comfortable. I know this all sounds excessive, I thought so myself when I first heard this, but once I tried it, all of these items made a world of difference, and they can even be bought in tiny travel-friendly sizes, this way the agents at security checkpoints won't have to grapple you to the ground to seize from your possession that suspiciously oversized bottle of Clear-Eyes.

Things to avoid (if you can help it): Coffee, tea and dunh dunh duuuunnnh...alcohol. Although they are liquids, these deliciously wondrous things will dehydrate you even more. Of course, the thought of no caffeine for some us...ahem, myself...for any extended period of time, can be freaky enough just thinking about let alone actually living it. So take this advice with a grain of salt, (which by the way can also help with dehydration, not that there's any reasonably palatable way to consume a handful of salt in mid air.)

Anyway, moving on to...
Tip #2 - Keep the Blood Flowing

Unless you're flying First Class, and even then at times, airplane seats are notoriously cramped for space. I rode a plane once to Thailand where it literally felt like my knees were jammed up against my chin the entire flight there. Okay, that's overly dramatic, but you know what I'm trying to say...when those 'fasten your seat belt' lights are turned off, stretch your legs and move around!

What are some things to do? Take off your shoes, this can keep your feet happy. Elevate your legs to allow the blood to flow. And never mind the grumpy guy at the end of the row who refuses to budge whenever you stand, get out of your seat and walk around. Some attendants will also encourage you to do stretches. I've been on a flight where an 'airplane workout video' would play on one of its channels. Of course, you're not going to be doing pilates in the aisle way, but even so there are some simple stretching exercises you can do at your seat. 

And not to freak you out or anything, but when your body is physically kept in an extreme prolonged state of inactivity with impaired blood circulation, this could lead to some potentially serious complications. Stagnant blood in the veins equals clotting, which in turn could lead to deep-vein thrombosis, i.e. very, very painful. Alright, so again this is the extreme, but it doesn't hurt, actually it feels even better, to just take a few minutes here and there to get up and stretch your legs. 

And finally...
Tip#3 - Sleep During the Flight

The plane won't stop dropping, that kid won't stop kicking your seat back and why does it have to be so stinking bright in here! Without a doubt, tip #3 is the climb to Mt. Everest of comfortable flight tips. But especially on those extremely long or overnight flights, this tip can be key in whether or not you'll have a pleasant start to your trip. And given some advance thought, you can get good sleep during the flight, even without those sleeping pills. 

One thing to consider ahead of time is what you wear. It's true, wearing a business suit can sometimes get you special treatment, but it definitely won't help you sleep better. Instead wear comfortable clothes and bring an extra pair of socks for when your toes get cold, (because you're gonna have your shoes off, remember?) Use the pillow and blanket provided, don't just stuff them in the seat pocket in front of you, or even better yet, invest in a water or neck pillow, because those items can make a huge difference. And if you have the option of picking your seat in advance, choose a window seat as this will provide you with something to lean on so you don't make the passenger next to you feel violated. You could even pick a seat in the wing section of the plane as these tend to be a little more stable than the rest.

And now we'd like to ask you: What do you do to have a more comfortable flight?