Today was the last day of our journey together, and it could not have been better. We saved the best for last. Early this morning, after almost twelve cruising hours, we made it to the outer edge of the Osa Peninsula. Drake’s Bay was our first destination of the day. We headed into the small but gorgeous Agujitas River. Agujitas is a nod to the many needlefish that abound here. The river is only accessible at high tide, and we lucked out. The river is at its best in the morning when the animals wake up in need of sun and food. Out we went in our faithful Zodiacs to explore the area. We observed green iguanas, yellow-crowned night herons, and bare-throated tiger herons. We had fantastic sightings of the spider and howler monkeys that greeted us.
In the afternoon, we repositioned our ship just a little bit south of the bay to reach our last stop, Caletas Beach Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is owned and run by our friend Enrique. Acting as a buffer zone to the Corcovado National Park, the refuge offers a wide variety of wildlife. We split into four groups for a coastal trek, a forest trek, a nature walk, and a photo walk. We were rewarded when a group of twelve spider monkeys jumped right over our heads. We observed capuchin and howler monkeys, basilisk lizards, and an array of birds, including scarlet macaws, orange-throated spadebills, and yellow-throated toucans.
Later that evening, another fantastic sunset helped us bid farewell to our Central American adventure.
