Two and Three-Toed Sloths

It's still raining, but we are up early and on the river. If you don't do things because its raining, you might not to do anything at all (it rains frequently here). We don our ponchos (provided by Laguna) and head out in motorized riverboats.

The rain splatters our faces as we pick up speed and water quickly accumulates in the seat, but the ponchos keep you amazingly dry. We have an excellent tour guide and boat captain, who together spot the smallest and most camouflaged creatures.

Along the shoreline we find a boa constrictor curled up in a tree and a little further upstream we find both two and three-toed sloths and a few basilisk lizards. We see several birds (herons of several species, kingfishers, northern jacanas, cormorants and hummingbirds) but no monkeys. They must have enough sense to try to stay out of the rain.

We stop for a bit in the Town of Tortuguero where we have a brief guided tour and history lesson on Tortuguero Village. There is time to check out some of the small gift shops and supers (mini grocery stores). Wow, they really have just about everything you could need in one little store!

A warm cup of coffee seems like just the right thing. We find a cozy coffee shop and enjoy 80's American music in the background. Tortuguero is a quaint town, it feels very comfortable to be here. If you listen to the locals talk, you might wonder what language they are speaking. They speak a dialect of creole English, mixed with Spanish, locally known as Patois (pronounced pat-wa). It's difficult to understand at first, but with time, you start to hear the words and understand a little.

We decide unanimously to stay indoors for the afternoon tour (it's still raining). Our guide offers an informative talk and slide show in the conference room. The rest of the afternoon and evening is unplanned. Cards are good things to bring in case it rains a lot.