Costa Rica

Day 1 of our new journey consisted of waking up bleary-eyed and jet-lagged at the Marriott in San Jose Costa Rica, after completing the 18 hour journey from London, to Paris, for the transatlantic flight, landing at 5:30PM. After a nights sleep, the Costa Rican breakfast buffet at the hotel was delicious, loaded with fresh pineapple and papaya, banana bread, rice and beans and eggs. Once the nutritious food kicked our systems into gear, along with the (several cups of) coffee, we set off on our 3 hour drive to Manuel Antonio. Since it is the rainy season, our host suggested an start early before the afternoon rain. After the UK driving, it was lovely to be back on the right side of the road, making for a stress-free drive.

Day 2

Day 2, our first full day at our jungle “home” was packed with visitors from all over the jungle. We spotted the sloth first, all balled up and still asleep in the nearby tree. After pulling open the 10 ft glass walls, we saw him slowly wake up and stretch out ever so slowly, seeming to take it in and enjoy every movement.

He then closed his eyes and soaked in the sun.

Noticing us, he smiled our direction, as if to say good morning, welcome to my rainforest.

With a fresh cup of coffee, we heard the arrival of the toucans. There was two of them, and they spent about a half an hour between several trees in the backyard. When they left, we weren’t sure who was watching who.

The rain started up. A stunning hummingbird visited to say good morning.

The raining continued and was joined by thunder. The capuchins came through, each seeming to take a different tree and route around us. The one I caught a picture of, was moving non-stop. Up and down the trees, fearlessly out to the furthest branches to get to the most delectable fruit.

Meanwhile, to our right, the sloth moved all around the tree he spent the night in.

But then he decided to go down the tree, and we lost sight of our new friend. 😞

After dinner we sat down again and looked out into the rainforest, it was still raining, and thunder, but it was a relaxing nurturing rain, not stormy. Spanning left, we spotted him, curled up again, against the rain, there was the sloth, tucked in for the night in a new tree.

Day 3

Coffee first, then pull open the 10ft glass doors. Taking our seats, we gazed out and our new friend was still fast asleep. But today he was tucked away on the far side of the tree, where he was difficult to see. But when we did spot him, he was hanging upside down, scratching away.

And smiling…..

A couple of Pale-billed woodpeckers visited for a short time.

And Gordon comes to visit once a day.

Days 4-7 and so it continued. Visits from rainforest friends. And methodical sloth balancing acts.

Capuchins come by once a day. They like to drop things on the roof. The first few days it was startling.

Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog visited today. We learned they are only poisonous if you eat them or touch them with an open wound, not planning to do either. 😊

Scarlet-rumped Tanager, specifically the Cherrie’s subspecies found in Costa Rica

The sstttrreettccchhh….

Two-handed grab.

Success with confirmation sniff test.

Squirrel monkeys

Off to Airbnb #2 in Costa Rica, we are still in Manuel Antonio staying close to the restaurants and tours. Over the week we saw a sloth, howler monkeys, capuchins, and squirrel monkeys.

Airbnb #3 in the hills of Playa Hermosa, in a mostly Tico neighborhood with a gorgeous view of the sea. The wildlife here, was a bit different, we saw lots of parrots and other birds and reptiles. A few very shy capuchins.