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	Our trip from San Jose to Las Caletas on the Osa Peninsula took a 20 min. taxi ride to the airport, a 30 min. flight to Palmar Sur, a 30 min. taxi ride to the river port at Sierpe, and a 1.5 hr boat ride down the river, through the mangrove forests (with their tiny bright blue crabs), to the ocean (past a small group of dolphins) and a beach landing south of Drake Bay. We started at 7am and got to our destination around 2pm, and were greeted with a great lunch and the best room in the place.
	The river trip between Sierpe and Las Caletas.
	Our 10 min. detour through the densest part of the mangroves. LIttle blue crabs skittered up and down most of the exposed roots.
	Juxtaposition: Tom and mangroves.
	The jungle shower...no, just the get-beach-sand-and-salt-water-off spout, halfway up the hill from the beach to the main house.
	Our perfect jungle cabin. Since there were 3 of us, we lucked out and got the nicest place at Las Caletas. A hammock and chairs and the nice bathroom downstairs. Three beds, open window and partially open walled bedroom upstairs. With lights powered by a river generator - which went out a few times. Just bring flashlights and extra batteries. Note the boots waiting patiently to be taken out for another adventure. We were asked to leave our dirty shoes off the lovely wood floors here and in the dining area. Note the cool green garamond vegan boots on the first step on the left - light, waterproof, and always got a compliment from the boots checkers at any airport. The roof was a corrugated tin and made the rain sound spectacular one night.
	At Las Caletas, like at Rara Avis, you're expected to take your shoes/sandals off when you come into the dining hall or your own cabin. It helps to keep the place clean, and to air out the nasty smelling shoes. Even 5 months later some of the socks I had with me, after many washes, STILL smell like the mud at Rara Avis. We're talking eau de tapir musk, or something like it.
	Our lovely, partially open-air (open-sun) bathroom at Las Caletas. The shower was all white tile and the water was unheated, cool. It felt great on the skin compared to the temperature outside.
	The toilet across from the shower. Why show this? To show that "jungle" accomodations can be really nice and not require you to compromise your sense of hygiene. The room and bathroom were cleaned every day, and the deck was swept and washed.
	The stairs up to the bedroom. A laundry line comes in handy for hanging up clothing you wash. They would have done laundry for us there, but a bit of camp soap got the sweat and salt water out just fine. This space also had 3 or 4 little resident bats that would perch in a corner of the bathroom when we came through. Oh, and the staircase smelled of skunk attack on steps 5 and 6 each time you came through.
	Upstairs, Tom's bed and mosquito net. A little bug repellent rubbed on the net kept out all the jungle insects. Most of what came through the open air windows were moonlight and sweet tropical breezes.
	Irena and Audra's bed and mosquito net. The light is shining off the lower roof onto the inside of the upper roof. This place was open air.
	Looking down on the dining hall from the top floor of our cabin. The dead looking tree still had some flowers, and often had Baltimore Orioles and other sunset passersby in its branches.
	The Pacific - one of our exploratory walks along the coastline.
	Ditto (connect the rocks).
	Now, it really looks like Audra is trying to get a closer look at whoever is on the beach, and hiding behind this rock at the same time. Maybe she is.
	Still looking. Connect the Audras.
	You can't see her anymore, but she's still looking. Connect the little person.
	Feb 23rd, Dolphin Encounter: Audra, Irena and some of the others picking out fins and snorkel gear for the dolphin encounter. This was run out of a lodge 2 beaches (meaning, 60 ft) down from ours. Really, the same beach. Divine Dolphin Encounters.
	A dolphin being "encountered" by Tom and the others. While Irena decided she wasn't fast enough a swimmer to keep up with the dolphins, and Audra decided to stay on the boat and throw up some more, Tom and the rest of the group would jump in and swim towards the dolphins. One of the tour leaders would swim down and try to redirect the dolphins towards the swimmers, but they didn't seem very keen on playing with us that day. Maybe the dolphins just don't like the term "Dolphin Encounter." Perhaps if it was called a "Dolphin-Human mixer", or something more modern? But, Tom's lifeguard training came in handy and he could keep up long enough to take a photo. His lack of tropical sun training, however, got him a bad burn on his back. You'll hear this from us again - reapply sunscreen often, or just wear a fishing shirt in the water. The sun can burn you through regular t-shirts at these latitudes. We also saw flying fish and sea turtles that day, and Audra learned that the floor of the boat was spot least in motion and that acupressure didn't work for her after the nausea set in.
	The open-air kitchen at Las Caletas. We had freshly baked bread every day, and 7:30am breakfast included granola, yoghurt, juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, beans and rice and 3 different fruits.
	The breakfast buffet in the process of being set.
	Tom winning the man-vs.-backpack struggle, outside the dining hall at Las Caletas.
	Looking out of the dining hall towards the ocean. The entire compund was up on a hill above the ocean, so the beach was a 2-5 minute walk away depending on if you had shoes on or had to negotiate the gravel barefoot.
	The view from the dining room. We spent many hours sitting drinking sodas, eating fresh caught Mahi-mahi, and looking for whales from that hill.
	A parrot was one of the 10's of bird species to hang out on this tree right outside the dining hall at Las Caletas. Around 4:30pm each afternoon, a number of us would find a spot on the grassy hill, binoculars and Costa Rica Bird Guide ready, and watch the feeding birds come. We saw flaming orange Orioles, scarlet-rumped tanagers, blue-grey tanagers, manakins, parrots, toucans, . All on that tree, hopping around, feeding.
	There must have been 10000's of little to tiny crabs cruising the beaches of the Osa Peninsula. This one found his way onto a sheet we left our things on.
	Tom scrambles up some rocks on a beach 15 minutes walk away from the Las Caletas beach. A few tide pools had formed and held little mud-skipper like fish, and other sea creatures.
	To the left of Tom.
	Rain forest.
	There's Tom up on the rocks again. Rocks and water - you can't keep him away.

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