Through the Tortuguero National Park

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After breakfast in the Monkey Dining Room, we once again boarded a boat to explore the waterways of the Tortuguero National Park. Because of the diverse wildlife in Costa Rica, that tends to be the primary focus of any excursion. As we made our way along the waterway we watched for birds, monkeys, lizards, iguanas, and other animals that may be within sight.

Toucans were high on the list of birds to see and we found three perched in a tree for our viewing. Other birds found on the trip were Tiger Herons, Green Herons, Egrets, Sungrebes and Anhingas. Larger animals included Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys and White-faced Monkeys. Iguanas and lizards were also along the river.

We returned to the hotel for lunch and found a little White-faced Monkey playing in the tree right outside of the dining room. I guess he was hoping for a handout, but feeding the monkeys was forbidden.

After lunch we climbed on board another boat to walk through the jungle. Here we found smaller critters such as Tiger Ants and Leaf Cutter Ants. Farther along we heard and then saw the Howler Monkeys jumping through the trees.

We returned to the hotel for our final dinner in Tortuguero before leaving in the morning to return to San Jose to collect the folks who will be joining our tour.

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