March 27th, 2026
The last full day of these trips is always a bit chaotic – you have to pack that evening, so you really don’t want to have much in the way of wet or soggy clothing and shoes. This trip was no different and both the morning and afternoon outings involved very wet landings (possibly waste deep), potential stream crossings, and of course, hiking in hot and humid rain forests. Nothing like opening up a suitcase the next day, with wet, smelly clothing in plastic bags.
The ship had sailed to the Osa Peninsula overnight, and we dropped anchor off of a beautiful, private rainforest preserve. There were four options in the morning, and some of the guests with long lenses opted for the “woos” or lazy hike – just a mile or so wandering along a coast trail, looking for things to photograph. We hit it lucky almost immediately – a very photogenic Scarlet Macaw, which was intent on feeding in the palm trees, and offered us some incredible close-up photo-ops. I had been hoping to get some good shots of these birds, and I finally got some. Beautiful colors on these birds.
We then headed off along the coast trail, looking for more beasties, or good scenic views. Our guide was the Nat Geo photographer, so he was providing some useful tips along the way – one of the reasons I enjoy their trips.
I have been doing pretty well health wise on this trip after my one panic/tachycardia attack, and had been really careful on the hikes since the trails are all covered in roots and muddy in places. My luck finally ran out – I was thinking as I strolled along, that I may not go on the afternoon hike, when I tripped on a root and fell forward. Luckily, the only thing that was seriously damaged was the lens hood on my big 500mm lens. That’s easily replaceable for about $40.. But I also twisted my bad knee a bit. That’s not easily replaceable but I was OK. I’m sure the trip lead had his radio out, ready to call for help, but I got up on my own. My pride was the only thing that really hurt. And a slight bit of blood. The ship doctor was getting used to seeing me, and I really did not want to bother her again.
After my little accident, we wound up walking back up the coast trail to view a baby sloth – not the most exciting animal to photograph since most of the time, you just see a mass of fur and maybe a couple of legs. A few people actually saw one move up the tree, and had photographs of the sloth’s face, but most everyone thought it was a toy someone stuck up in the tree.
Eventually, we headed back to the beach – the heat and humidity were getting worse, so it was nice to get back to the ship. I decided at that point that I had enough photographs, and did not want to get wet and sweaty again. Or risk another fall. So I just settled in for the afternoon, packing, relaxing, drying off my very wet shoes and soggy clothing, and filtering through all the raw and jpeg images I had captured the last few days. This effort will keep me busy for a few days once I get home.
I think this was the night someone said there would be a “green burst” with the sunset. I’ve seen that before in Maui, where you get some green rays just as the sun goes under the horizon. A bunch of us went out on the bow observation deck to witness this – it was during happy hour, so I was probably the only person on deck that had not already downed a few margaritas or martinis. I’m sure most of them believe they saw some burst of color…but that probably had more to do from the alcohol than light refraction. But it was still a pretty sunset.
The last gathering on all the Nat Geo/Lindblad trips includes a slideshow of shared photos from the passengers – everyone gets to submit up to 5 photos, and the Nat Geo photographer selects the most interesting and cobbles together the show. It’s not a contest, but I usually get all five of mine selected. It’s a lot of fun – someone else contributed a shot of a bunch of passengers hanging over the railing – they were looking at dolphins at the time, but these images always look like they are having an adverse reaction to something they ate. I had that shot (see below) but had too many other photos I wanted to show. But I’m glad that I am not the only one with a warped sense of humor.
Peace (burp)
The Traveling Widower 