Even more monkeys

We were right there when the park opened at 7 am

hallway of our hotel

one of its pools

more grounds

Halloween crab  He was about 9 inches across

A potoot, a kind of owl which really blends in well with tree bark. This is from a book. I did see one as the guides know where it hides. Very well disguised

squirrel monkey, only found in this park. Howler monkeys are all over the place

morphous butterfly would come floating by at eye level but never slow down or land. Hard to photograph. Even those with good lenses did no better than me. There are 6 varieties here. I thought this was the prettiest

we could either stay at the beach of take one of several hikes. We opted for the beach The sand was soft and the water clear and warm. Wonderful. Our guide stood watch against thieving monkeys (they like glasses)

capuchins walked freely on the beach. Not scared of us

isn't he cute

iguana in the lobby

my friend doing close ups Note lens

my view cross the aisle in the bus

In the afternoon, we took a tram ride over the canopy up a mountain. Waterfalls and lots of green below

should have bought one of these at the gift shop

Montezuma oropendula nests: A very large oriole. There is one there though you can't see his gold tail or his multicolored long beak

on the very same tree, scarlet macaws had a nest in a hole  My friend with the lens will share photos at some point

my friend and I on the tram

We woke bright and early to get our luggage out, have breakfast and then go on a hike through the national park before the heat of the day and the crowds. It was very warm even at 6 am. While we were waiting for our group, I heard an owl nearby in the foliage. Our guide id'ed it as a sawwhet owl, a short squat owl that looks more like a furby than a living thing. Lots of butterflies floated by. We stopped for more monkeys, sloths and more Jesus lizards, which are brown in these parts versus the green ones we saw on the Atlantic side. After 90 minutes, we reached the beach (we got back much quicker on our own). Rather than walk, we jumped in the waves of the warm Pacific, a first for me (I've been in the cold!!Pacific). White faced monkeys scurried over the picnic tables hoping that some food had survived the backpack checks. One was in luck. Someone had hidden a piece of pineapple. The monkey was on that fruit in a second with the ranger yelling 

no Bueno, no Bueno

We rushed home for a shower, then lunch, then on the road again. Right before we were to turn off for our last stop, an accident prevented us from moving. We had only about 100 meters to go. Our guide got out and persuaded some of the vehicles to inch over to the left while our bus inched by on the grass and shoulder (usually no shoulder in CR) to get by. Eight of us to a tram. One guy, nervous about heights, bailed again. I did see more hummingbirds, flecks of bright blue below us. Various birds but a while lot of green.

Then the long ride in rush hour traffic back to San Jose for out last night.