I recently visited Sirena ranger station in Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Sirena is unreachable by road, so the visit involved an hour-long boat ride from the town of Drake Bay, about 30km up the coast. So when I got back, I thought I’d recreate the trip by flying from Drake Bay to Sirena.
Here’s a view of Drake Bay, followed by my early morning photo taken from the beach for comparison.
20 minutes of flight over the jungle and the grassy strip of Sirena emerges from the foliage.
Standard approach pattern put me in line for landing.
And here’s the aircraft parked at the end of the strip, followed by a photo taken there for comparison.
It turns out Sirena airstrip is one of the bespoke detailed airstrips added to the sim. You can really see a surprising level of accurate detail in the sim. This little soccer goal was there in real life. (The sign has actually been moved and updated, but I sadly don’t have a photo of it.)
Here’s the ranger station’s front porch in the sim. I left my shoes on the left side of those steps (you can’t wear shoes on the wooden walkways or in the buildings) and chilled for a bit in a rocking chair on that porch before heading back to the boat. You can book a stay here and sleep in bunks surrounded by mosquito nets and eat at the dining hall, all recreated accurately in the sim. You can even zoom in and read the informational signs on the porch. Pretty impressive.
Ironically in real life, the airstrip hasn’t seen use in several years due to liability issues. You can’t fly into Sirena anymore. You have to take a boat or hike in.