A Day To Never Forget!

At around 4:00am in the morning, we started to hear what sounded like gunfire, at very irregular intervals.  The location kept changing and we later realized the noise was caused by monkeys in the treetops dropping coconuts on the roofs of the cabins, hoping to crack them open.  We'd been warned, too, that the Howler Monkey (which make a dog-like barking sound) might also wake us up early, but we did not hear them until the following morning.  Later, when I was in the shower, one of the coconuts landed on our roof, and the noise had me literally jumping.  We would see those same monkeys later at breakfast, as a small troop descended on the eating hall.  While our tables were inside, there were smaller tables on the porch, and one woman had her breakfast snatched by marauding monkeys, making a huge mess!

White-Faced Caphucin Monkeys at Breakfast

It had absolutely poured rain during most of the night.  So much for passing showers.  It was still raining when we made our way to breakfast, but it stopped and the sun soon came out.  The timing was perfect, as our morning activity was a boat tour through the national park.  We lathered up with sunscreen and bug spray and divided our group into two separate open-air boats, with separate naturalists who narrated the tour for us.  

Headed Out on Our Wildlife Boat Tour Through the Park

...Just a Little Windy!

As I mentioned, I had not really prepared for this trip. Katherine at least thought ahead and ordered a small bird guide for Costa Rica, which we had already used.  As we started the tour, our guide pulled out a three-inch think bird book, and we realized that our little laminated guide would not be sufficient, to say the least.  We tried to keep track of all the names of the birds and animals we saw, but it was hard if not impossible.   K did a much better job than I making notes on her phone, while I relied on my memory, which was almost universally a mistake.

For about two and half hours we slowly made our way through parts of the park, never knowing exactly what we would see.  The majority of animals we saw were birds of all kinds, many of which walked on floating paddy beds along the riverside.  Surprisingly they would not fly away when our boat pulled alongside.  We learned that the boat movement would stir up insects, which pleased the birds and had them literally walk right up to our boat.  We also saw snakes, lizards, iguanas, monkeys, etc.  I can't even recall all that we saw.  We were lucky, too, as rain held off all morning.

Iguana

Cayman

The "Jesus Lizard," as it Runs Across Water

"Piano Bird" Drying Itself After Diving for Fish

Lunch was back at the resort, and after a short break we were back on the boat, headed to a "sister resort" owned by the same family that ran ours.  From there, we took a two-hour walk on a very well-maintained paved elevated pathway through the dense rainforest.  We saw different wildlife here than we'd seen on the river, to include sloths, more monkeys, and lots of wild insects and spiders!  The foliage, too, was extremely interesting, and our guide explained how many of the plants had specially adapted to the unique climate there.  We saw our first toucans, too, but were unable to get a good picture.

Sister Resort Where We Went Hiking

Freshwater Turtle

We were all tired when we made it back to our resort.  Anna and K rested while I went to one of the outdoor pools, hoping it would be warm.  Alas, with all the rain, the water was very cold, so I didn't spend much time in the pool.  K joined me later and we enjoyed several (yes, several) OUTSTANDING pina coladas poolside.  They were truly memorable and set the standard for the rest of the trip.

Capybara Mother Nursing Baby

Blue Jean Poison Dart Frog

Dinner was subdued as we were all tired, and again, we had no trouble sleeping despite that wildlife orchestra right outside our cabin.