We woke up naturally on Saturday at 5:30 and discovered that our cabin sits right on the edge of a gorge with a stream flowing at its bottom. The rainforest, of course, grows right on the edges of the steep gorge. After another tour of the garden, a descent down steep stairs to the stream, and an excellent (but small) breakfast, we set out for a small private reserve a few kilometers away where we had read you could see sloths and birds.
The promise was fully delivered! Both Lilach and I had seen sloths before, but never in such density and under such excellent viewing conditions. In a relatively small area, we saw 5 or 6 different individuals from both species of sloths (two-toed and three-toed, named after the number of digits on their forelimbs – both species have three digits on their hindlimbs) and of both genders, including an energetic 8-month-old juvenile. On a guided tour in the surrounding secondary forest, we found two charming (and poisonous) species of frogs and watched birds, insects, and lizards. At the bird-feeding station near the main hut, we watched beautiful songbirds that came to eat the fruit offering.
The reddish tint around the dorsal stripe is typical of males.
A sloth in high-action mode
We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant. When we arrived, all the tables were flipped over because the friendly hostess/cook/waitress had just finished mopping the floors. By the time we left, you could have planted potatoes under our table, but she reassured us that it wasn’t a problem at all. We were the only diners there, but the food wasn’t bad (I particularly liked the homemade hot sauce). Tamar was delighted by the discovery of chayote – a type of gourd with texture and taste between that of a squash and a cucumber. After the meal, we drove straight to the Tortuguero Reserve. At the dock, after we parked the car and waited in a restaurant for the boat to take us on our hour-long trip, we suddenly saw a huge male green iguana across the path, putting on an impressive show. Along the way, we saw some lazy crocodiles lying on floating logs and some iguanas on the branches.
At night, we went on a tour to see a sea turtle laying eggs (green sea turtles are, after all, what gave the reserve its name). Seeing the egg-laying up close was an impressive experience and will be etched in our memories, also thanks to the fact that it happened in a pouring rain that soaked us to the bone. You’re not allowed to bring camera equipment to the beach, so as not to disturb the nesting turtles, so there are no pictures from this part.
Family Trips 