Cahita National Park

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On Friday morning I got up early with plans on meeting up with my new friends for breakfast at the Bread and Chocolate Restaurant before taking the bus north to Cahita. In Cahita is the National Park that is the most easily accessible and most popular. It is about 5 miles of pristine beaches, coral reefs and flats where I think I saw a bonefish! Rich, don't wet your pants, I can't be 100% sure. I watched the dorsal and sometimes the caudal fin dart around in the flat area close to the coast.

In the park we saw sloths (perezosos in Spanish, which = lazy), white-faced capuchin monkeys, a coatis (couldn't get a great shot) and of course lots of water birds. I heard first in the distance and then saw howler monkeys in this park. They sound like gorillas getting mad!

I took way too many beach and surf shots because we walked for long periods of time without seeing anyone in the water or on the trail. It was really worth it to walk through the tropical heat, mosquitos, sand flies, etc. to see these untouched areas.

After our hike we stopped at a little outdoor bar and had frescos (water blended with fruit and probably a little sugar). It was just exactly what was needed after sweating in the jungle heat. Then we had to wait for over an hour for a bus to stop and pick us up and take us back to Puerto Viejo. Lots of people were on the bus and they smelled worse than we did. There were some young guys with their surfboards headed to Puerto Viejo. I plan on watching some surfing tomorrow.

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Photos

Bread and Chocolate
I didn´t eat either of these for breakfast but plan on getting there in the afternoon for some.

New Young Friends
Here are Assa and Kika in front of a mural at the Cahita bus station.

White Faced Capuchin
Capuchins are familiar to most people because they are the organ grinder´s pal.

Ranger Station
Here a friendly ranger instructed us on how to hike through the Cahita National Park.

Sloth
Sloths are high up in the trees and are hard to spot. To me they always look like they are smiling.

White Faced Capuchin
Organ Grinder´s Monkey is how I remember these guys.

Coati
Coati walks across the rangers road.

Beach
The beaches are really nice but not straight and easy to walk.

Comments

[Rich]

Hey babe, Great pictures and notes. Sounds like you're having a great time. WTF? A Bonefish!!! Did you get a picture of the flats with the potential bonefish? I don't think there are bonefish anywhere in Costa Rica. Things are good here. Went fishing at 7 this morning and got rain and lightning at about 930, so that sucked. Your dad said Sydney and the cat are good, Ronnie said the ducks are good and laying eggs. Don't know about LBJ (Little Brown Job). Have fun, take care and be safe, call me when you get back to the hotel and hook up with your classmates tomorrow (Sunday). Love you and miss you, Rich.