Our last trip around the Osa peninsula was our only ocean-going one. We shared a boat with another couple staying at the hotel out into the Gulf to try and find dolphins. It is a good area for whales as well but not at the time of year we were there. It took us about half an hour to drive to the quay where our boat together with driver and guide were waiting for us. The sea was flat calm and not a cloud in the sky. Fortunately our boat had a cover on it, though not covered with pelicans like this one!!
Even before we had left the harbour we saw our first dolphins, a bottlenose which apparently is a well-known harbour resident. The main course though was out in the bay, about 20 minutes cruise away. Our skipper found a pod of over 100 spotted dolphins playing and fishing near the surface.
Like any cetacean cruise you spent a lot of time watching dorsal fins appear and disappear before you managed to get your camera trained on them. There was lot of photos to delete at the end of the day!!!
The activity was all around us. Dolphins would breach occasionally though that was even harder to catch. They were chasing small fish which sometimes leapt out of the water to get away.
By now we weren't the only boat to have found the pod, but everyone was pretty good at keeping their distance and not pestering the dolphins too much.
Of course, you can't legislate for the dolphins coming too close to you!!
The most unusual sight was a right in the middle of the gulf - a sea-snake slowly drifting past the boat.
It was about 3 feet long and looked beautiful, though like all sea snakes would it is highly venomous.
We spent the second half of the trip cruising closer to the coast and among the mangroves which fringed the shore.
As a final treat the skipper took us to an area of mangroves near the dock which was good for roseate spoonbills. It didn't disappoint, though there was only one lurking about in the trees over our head.
By the rime we got back the wind was starting to get up and I suspect the people getting onto the boat after us didn't have quite so comfortable a journey!
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