17/02/2023 to 19/02/2023 - Cahuita / Costa Rica

Today tomorrow we actually wanted to walk a new trail through the rainforest of Veragua, but it was raining incessantly. Although it's called a rainforest, that was a bit too much. So we canceled the planned walk and instead packed everything up calmly to drive to our next location. First by car to Limon and then by public bus to Cahuita. It's a small town with many accommodations, bars, restaurants, and sandy beaches. We met a lot of European tourists here. A small cottage with its own kitchen on a horse ranch was our home for the next three nights. But not only horses live here, but also sloths and frogs. The next morning at 7 o'clock we met with Michael, a guide we already met in Veragua. Together with him we went to Cahuita National Park. The park is one of the oldest and most interesting in the country and includes coral reefs, sandy beaches, and rainforests. A path of about 8 kilometers leads through the park. Most of the time you walk along the coast, but through the trees you are well protected from the sun. The path is very well signposted, so you can also do it alone, but we are glad that we had Michael with us, otherwise we would never have seen so many animals. He has been a guide in the region for 8 years and knows exactly where the animals are usually found. Right after the entrance we saw the first inhabitants. Basilisks, spiders, crabs, turtles, at least 15 sloths and many monkeys we saw. During our almost 4-hour walk, he told us a lot about the local animal and plant life. At the end of the day we had a delicious meal in one of the city's restaurants.

The next day we got up early because in the morning it's not quite so hot yet. We had another appointment with Michael, again going to Cahuita National Park, but today we started from the other side, in Puerto Vargas. Here a completely different natural spectacle awaited us, taller trees, many birds, and it was much warmer because the cool sea breeze was further away. We walked on an elevated wooden path through the forest. An orange poisonous eyelash viper had made itself comfortable on the handrail, we almost overlooked it. Like many other visitors who just walked past it, dangerous. We discovered many animals and interesting plants again. Our path led to the beach and then we returned. The snake was still sitting on the handrail, Michael then put it in a tree for safety reasons. We said goodbye and made our way to the Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo. The animal rescue center takes care of orphaned, abused, and injured animals. The staff tries to nurse all animals back to health so that they can be released back into the wild. However, this is not possible for some and they remain here for the rest of their lives. We visited these animals today, including howler monkeys, sloths, a crocodile, turtles, and many more. A good project, which is maintained solely by donations and entrance fees, but sad how many animals constantly arrive here. Last year alone there were a total of 900 animals.