We stepped off the stern of the boat into crotch-deep water and waded to the black sand beach. There we were greeted by Sweetie, a lively spider monkey and ambassador-in-chief for the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sweetie was 4 days old when a poacher shot her mother, intending to snatch Sweetie for the illegal pet trade. But Sweetie hit a branch as she fell, clinging to her dead mother, and began to scream. The poachers fled, leaving her to die. Today, Sweetie is part of a troop of black-handed spider monkeys that roam the Sanctuary.

Every animal at the Sanctuary has a story. Most are there because of a similarly traumatic encounter with humankind. Some will be rehabilitated to the wild; those that cannot will live out their lives in the most compassionate and dignified circumstances possible. At Osa Wildlife Sanctuary, the animals come first. You can read their stories and learn how to help here: Osa Wildlife Sanctuary.

We had barely climbed aboard our boats and turned back toward the opposite shore of Golfo Dulce, when the rain came. Open fishing boats didn’t provide much shelter! But, hey, we were already wet almost to the waist by our wade back out from the beach, so what’s a little rain? Or a lot.

Back at Crocodile Bay, we began to wrap up our Osa Peninsula experience with hot showers, dry clothes, lunch and preparing to share a few of our favorite images from the week. And then the skies opened.

This was not your typical tropical rainstorm of a few minutes duration. It was a deluge. Thunder clapped and lightening struck somewhere on the grounds, instantly frying all of the resorts computers, servers, and internet connectivity. Miraculously, the power stayed on!

And so I sign off this series from a hotel in San Jose. It was hard to leave the Osa Peninsula this morning. I will be processing this experience–not to mention hundreds of photos!–for some time.