It is now our final day aboard National Geographic Quest. This morning the calls of howler monkeys and scarlet macaws led us into the most biologically diverse part of Costa Rica. The Osa Peninsula is home to one of the healthiest rainforests in Central America and also home to a particularly large colony of scarlet macaws. We visited Playa Caletas in the morning with three options for endeavoring to choose from, including a trip through the dense rainforest buffer to a national park, a casual hike in the lower beachfront area to look for wildlife, and horseback riding to Rio Claro. As one might expect, there were wonderful sightings of wildlife across all activities. Scarlet macaws, spider monkeys, Tamandua anteaters, leaf-cutter ants, howler monkeys, and three toed sloths and their offspring were all seen.
The afternoon found us at the largest national park within the peninsula, Corcovado National Park. We disembarked onto the beaches of the San Pedrillo Ranger Station, one of five stations occupying Corvocado. Once we arrived, ranger personnel offered options of either visiting a local waterfall or a trail known to afford terrific views of wildlife along the beach. No shortage of ways to appreciate the splendor of this play, clearly, and what a wonderful afternoon this was to conclude our trip!
