Two nights in Puerto Jimenez

Hola!
We've reached the point in our journey where we are seeing more and more biodiversity which is really exciting.  We had our last Spanish class on Friday and while it was very good for me I'm happy to be finished with sitting in a classroom and the homework.  Now I can just practice what I've learned.  When we left school we drove to the airport in Tamarindo, which was pretty funny - no check-in desk, no airport security and one short little runway.  They just checked our names, and we got on our charter flight to Puerto Jimenez.  I'm posting a couple of photos of the view of Peninsula de Osa (our destination) from the plane below
Yesterday we went on a guided hike in the Corcovado Reserve, in the Peninsula de Osa, which is probably the most incredibly beautiful place I have ever been.  In this Peninsula there are 10,000 species of insects, 360 species of birds, 140 Mammals, and 5 species of cats:  Jaguar, Puma, Ocelot, and Consila.  We hiked along the beach where the waves pounding, and the view was magical - misty mountains ahead and lush greenery alongside us.  Then we walked into the forest where there were streams to cross and things to learn about.  We had three guides - two of them carried huge machetes!   The machetes were used to split open the coconuts perfectly so we could drink the juice and then eat the coconut.
We saw so  many Scarlet Macaws (they are endangered but abundant in this particular area) I couldn't count them.  I'm so used to seeing them in cartoons etc. that it's hard to believe they are real with all of those bright colors - red, blue, and yellow.  We saw capuchin monkeys, which have cute white faces, two different kinds of snakes, lots of hermit crabs, a big group of coatis (similar to raccoons but wilder looking) an anteater, other really interesting looking birds and lots of gorgeous plants.  We were in a puma's territory but didn't see one.
I won't be able to post pictures from the hike here since I took photos with my phone and not my iPad but I'll be happy to show them to you when I get home if you're interested.
Today we're headed to an Eco Lodge in La Amistad and will do some community service work with some of the indigenous people there.  I won't have internet access again until Wednesday or Thursday so I'll share some of those experiences when I get back online.  I'm adding a photo of an Iguana that crossed my path on the way to breakfast this morning.