Cahuita

Since we'd gone a week without a plane, bus or taxi ride, we thought we could handle the half-hour bus trip to Cahuita. We went into the national park and walked the forest trail paralleling the beach for about 45 minutes before stopping for a swim and snack. We were surprised to not see wildlife, though we probably walked past one or more sloths, which can be very difficult to spot due to their remarkable camouflage. Even though it was late morning–not the best time for viewing wildlife–one can expect to see a few interesting birds, monkeys etc. along the trail through this park. We walked back and sat on the beach near the park entrance watching the surf to kill time before walking to the bus station to catch our return bus. I happened to look above into the beach almond trees shading us, and noticed two howler monkeys taking their midday nap. One of them is shown here. You can see his prehensile tail gripping the bed.