Howler Monkeys And Birds
Visitors can witness stunning sights like Roseate Spoonbills, Agami Herons, and Boat-billed Herons gracefully navigating the labyrinthine channels of these unique ecosystems.
January 8, 2014
Puerto Limon, Province of Limon, Costa Rica
The monkeys appeared one, two, three, or four of them on the very top branches. They kept swinging from one branch to another, appearing like a flash of brown mass, about twenty feet above us. One of them was busy peeling off leaves, and eating them as fast as he could. They stayed together in small groups and we watched them within easy earshot from our our small canal boat. It was fascinating to watch them in their natural habitat.
“There's another one on the right,” pointed Freedom, our private guide for today. “Over there, on that big branch,” he added. “They are howler monkeys,” explained Jardin our river guide. We have three kinds of monkeys here. They are the howler monkey; the one that you can see now. We also have the capuchin monkeys, or the white-faced monkeys. Last but not the least, we have the spider monkeys. They are the smallest and they are lighter in color,” narrated Jardin.
Our small boat drifted slowly on the Tortuguero canal. This is a national park created in 1975 to protect the spawning areas of the green turtle (Tortuguero in Spanish), and the regions rich flora and fauna.
``This canal stretches from Moin to the Colorado River near the border with Nicaragua,`` Jardin continued to explain.
``That tree is called the Calabash tree. The green fruit that you see, is what we pick and dry, and then later on make into Maracas``, as Jardin pointed to a tree on our side. The fruit was big, and looked very hard.
``Can you eat them,`` Bert asked. `No, you can`t. Inside is just pulp,`replied Jardin.
Suddenly, we saw some movement in another tree directly to our left. ``Can you see that,`` asked Freedom.
``Those are Sloths. The smaller one is a two toed sloth, while the bigger and darker one is a three toed Sloth. We are lucky, that we can see them moving and eating. Most of the time they are just hanging upside down, and sleeping during the day,`` said Jardin. ``Similar to Koalas in Australia,`` he added.
Mother and cub sloth.
Just as on our river tour about a week and a half ago, we saw tons of birds during our jungle river Eco-tour today. For a short time, our boat drifted slowly in the mangrove swamp. There were several kinds of Heron and Egrets on the bank that was their nests, and home. We saw lots of Sandpipers that our guide Freedom, referred to as the dancing birds, for the way they move. At times, our eyes were fixated on Kingfishers, Hawks, Falcons and Swallows. The birds sometimes were still, while our boat slowly drifted through the clearings in the canal. Thrice more, we saw a different grouping of Howler monkeys, and the Capuchin monkeys were leaping amongst the great mass of foliage.
``The bananas here are wild, and not edible for human consumption,`` said Jardin while grabbing a banana from a nearby tree. He peeled, and broke the fruit into half, and handed it to us with the black seeds exposed. ``You see those seeds; they are the ones that will give you a stomach ache if you eat that banana,`` he continued to explain. For more than an hour, while our boat slowly drifted along the canal, we heard constant shrieks and howls from the Howler monkeys along with the tweeting of birds. Sometimes, there would be silence, then we could hear the distinct sounds of the jungle. There were a couple of iguanas high above in the tree branches, sun bathing. We noticed a green but bigger Jesus Christ Lizard, and Jardin explained that it was a male. Among the Herons, the most beautiful one is the Green heron. We saw one crouched on a branch, but ready to take flight, at the first sign of danger. As we got closer for a photograph, it moved from branch to branch. It looked small and the color appeared black. Whatever spooked it; whether it was our boat or our voices, it took off and we then discovered its true size and color. As it flew away, we could see its huge dark green wings, now fully spread before our eyes, as it disappeared in the surrounding foliage.
Yellow-throated Toucan is a bird of lowland and foothill rainforest.
We could have wandered further along the canal, but had we were running short of time. With Freedom`s explanation, that we needed to be back at the docks at 3:00 pm, the boatman sped up. The sounds of the howler monkeys became fainter and fainter, until at last it was masked by the sound of the boat engine. We were back near the dock just before our schedule. We stopped by at a local supermarket to get some precious Costa Rican coffee. Freedom, our guide from Javac Tours, knew where to drive to avoid the afternoon traffic. He used to live in New York and serves in the US Army. He is married to a local girl and now considers Costa Rica his home. He also made sure, that we got the best coffee ever. We give Freedom, two thumbs up! The scenes we witnessed in the Costa Rican jungle will forever be remembered even if we didn't see the relatives of Hugo Chavez and Osama Bin Laden (crocodiles) this time around. We didn't feed the monkeys just like the way they do in the zoo, or in Disney World. We didn't do the zip lining, or the canopy jungle ride. There was just not enough time to do all of that in one day. I dare say, it is hard to leave Costa Rica without thinking of the remarkable way the country has preserved their living, and breathing forest. There are over 28 National Parks in Costa Rica, which is remarkable considering its size.
In any case, my husband said, ``There are lots of monkeys in Ottawa, so we are not going to miss these monkeys!``
Comments
Glad you got to the dock safely. I was concerned of an alligator jumping out of the water any time. Thank you for another "trip" to the tropical forest of C.R. From Kim L., on Jan 12, 2014 at 01:52 a.m.
Thank you for posting this, Charlotte. I love reading about your beautiful day on the canal and your other adventures on the World Cruise. We are still getting used to reality back here in Santa Rosa, California and we wish we were still sailing on the beautiful Amsterdam. From Amy, on Jan 12, 2014 at 03:18 a. m.
Way to go Bert & Lotty! Truly enjoy reading your travel blog. Monkeydoodledoo, Julie From Julie Lee, on Jan 13, 2014 at 07:12 a.m.