It’s On My List

February 1, 2025

Costa Rica is all about the flora and fauna. It is estimated to a have more than 500,000 species of plants and animals, making it one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.

I’ve been to Costa Rica three times before – two land vacations and one cruise stop. So, I have already visited the sloth sanctuary, which was amazing. And I’ve toured the Tortuguero Canal to view sloths and monkeys in the wild, which is another primary attraction in the Caribbean coastal region. This time I wanted to spend some time actually walking through the jungle, so I booked a cruise ship excursion called “National Parks, Wildlife Refuge & Macaw Sanctuary”.

On the way to our first site, the bird sanctuary, we stopped to view some howler monkeys in the trees along the roadside. They were rather high up, so ended up looking like indistinct blobs in my pictures. They were just peacefully hanging out, not making their signature howling noises, but our guide, Caeser, gave a pretty good imitation of the sound. He also proved to be excellent at imitating various bird sounds throughout the day. He definitely knows his stuff. We also stopped to watch some capuchin monkeys, who were a bit more cooperative for photos. They were fetching bananas from the porch of a little house by the river. They were very cute but watching them scurry up into the trees with their purloined fruit gave me a flashback to the time a vervet monkey stole my sandwich the second I pulled it out of the bag when I visited Kruger National Park in South Africa. I haven’t trusted monkeys since.

To be honest, I’m not much of a bird person, but the Macaw sanctuary was included with the two other places I wanted to visit, so I went to see some birds. The Great Green Macaw has become virtually extinct in the region due to deforestation and hunting. The birds were hunted not for food but for sale as pets. Interestingly, Costa Rica does not allow wild animals to be owned as pets, nor does it allow zoos. There are, however, several animal sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers in the country where one can have the opportunity to see sloths, jaguars, and other creatures up close. Costa Rica also has made great strides in combatting deforestation, which had been rampant in the ’60s and ’70s with the expansion of the banana industry.

The Ara Manzanillo Refuge has been working since 2010 to reintroduce the Great Green Macaw to the region, and they have been successful with an estimated 100 – 120 of the birds now living in the refuge. We did a short hike up to a viewing platform and spent a peaceful 20 minutes or so observing several pairs of the birds swooping around. I must say, they are beautiful. I wasn’t able to capture any decent pictures, so have included a photo from the refuge’s website to show how gorgeous they are.

Leaving the birds behind, we headed for the first of two stops within Cahuita National Park. This was the part of the excursion I was most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. We walked along a raised wooden walkway into the rainforest. It was lush and green and filled with the sounds of calling birds. We were warned to look before placing our hands on the railings in case of vipers or bullet ants – yikes! Thankfully, the railings remained clear of venomous creatures. I did see some leafcutter ants, which were fascinating. There was a steady line of them carrying chunks of leaves back to their nest. We saw a sloth, lots of birds, and some lizards as well as a huge variety of plants. It was overall a very satisfying trek.

We then drove a bit further down the coast to the other section of the park, which runs along the beach. Here we did see a couple of bright yellow vipers, thankfully in a tree off to the side of the walkway. We also saw lots of iguanas and a few more sloths. It was very cool to be walking with the crashing surf of the Caribbean Sea on one side and the jungle on the other side. The sea breeze was especially welcome in the heat and humidity.

Finally, we made our way to a local restaurant for a delicious meal of rice and beans and chicken, followed by an obligatory stop at a gift shop. I decided that my stuffed sloth collection is complete, so stuck to my plan of only buying practical souvenirs that will fit in my suitcase. Hence, another coaster has been added to my collection.