Cahuita National Park, 21.4.22

Today we took a shuttle from Holger (pronounced: Olcher), a local taxi driver (recommended by the bartender from yesterday, who by the way is called Junior (pronounced: Chunior) and recently started addressing me as 'Doña Claudia' 😁), to Cahuita National Park. Holger arrived exactly at 8:45 as ordered and drove us in a red jeep to the park entrance in half an hour. Although Cahuita National Park is relatively small, it encompasses a huge variety of flora and fauna, as well as white sandy beaches and one of the last living coral reefs in Costa Rica.

There are two entrances to the national park, at the ranger stations Kelly Creek and Puerto Vargas, which are connected by an 8.5 km long hiking trail. We decide to enter through the Kelly Creek entrance, which is located in the village. Visitors are allowed to enter the park by donation. At the ranger station, our backpacks are checked and we are asked to dispose of any plastic bags. Despite the many people in the park and the lack of trash bins, we don't see a single piece of litter along the trail in the next few hours! Amazing! But we weren't looking for trash, we wanted to hike, see animals, and find a beautiful spot by the sea with a beach. So off we go. We are not disappointed, right on the first meters BEFORE the gate, there is an iguana sitting and enjoying a pineapple. Along the way, we see a sloth, 2 raccoons, lots of capuchin monkeys (they can be quite aggressive), howler monkeys, geckos, crabs, a toucan, and several basilisk lizards (also called Jesus Christ lizards because they can run on water 😁). At one point, we have to cross a river that flows into the sea barefoot. There are plenty of signs along the river saying 'please do not feed the crocodiles', and since Sebastian doesn't want to be crocodile food himself, he lets himself be carried across. Wise decision 😉.

After about 2.5 km, Sohni refuses to go any further - it's now about 11 am and the heat is starting to get really intense again, plus hunger, boredom ('we've already seen monkeys'), and all that. So, beach break!

After a successful break and snack, the mood improves again. We hike back, have another snack at a restaurant, and wait for Holger to take us home again. We arrive at 3 pm, hang out by the pool, and in the pool, I actually meet people from Zaragoza! I mean, what are the chances! We have a nice chat about our hometown and then we also meet a family from Israel. Everyone shares tips, Junior once again looks for animals for everyone, and he tells me that there are 185 species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica, two of which are often seen in the garden here. Tonight, we have dinner at Beach Break for the second time, and it's excellent once again.

Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we will indulge in relaxation again before we receive our car on Sunday and start our road trip.