Dear friends: When I am old and decrepit and no longer good for anything on this earth, please take me to this beach on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica and lay me down among the hermit crabs and coconuts. There I will peacefully and happily drift off to paradise and never notice the transition.

However…, to get there, I assume will require one more trip up Highway 245, one more bouncy, bone-jarring, teeth rattling ride! In a Land Rover with Michael driving, please, because he travels this road every day to work and is intimately acquainted with every pothole. He’ll get me there.

The coolest thing about Highway 245 is the richness of creatures that live along the way. Along this road Tuesday we had a delightful encounter with a crested owl, squirrel monkeys, and more.

Some of my photographer companions on this adventure are amused at my fascination with the plant creatures! Once I have gotten some shots of whatever bird or animal grabbed out attention, I turn to giant bromeliads perched in the ficus trees along the road. Or the pops of red and orange contributed by heliconia, bird of paradise and other flowers I can’t yet name.

But today I’ll sign off with a bird because I haven’t done that yet. Notice that this bird has all the colors of the flowers on its person: orange beak, red and yellow on it’s belly! This was one of my first photos of the day–on the grounds of Crocodile Bay. A great way to start the day!