The boat for this morning’s adventure was leaving at 6 am so it was another early rise. For about two hours we cruised the lagoon and canal checking for birds and animals. Right away we saw some howler monkeys but later found a group of spider monkeys high in the trees. Other animals sighted were some large iguanas, a couple of caymans. Most of the rest of the sightings were birds – a beautiful immature blue heron, a couple of cute jacanas, some spread-wing anhingas, one preening baby tiger heron, a foraging green heron, a couple of green macaws, some aracaris, two glossy black ibis’, two brown pelicans flying overhead, a soaring frigate.
Back at the lodge I was served a delicious breakfast omelet. Some people had pancakes and from what I could tell they were good too. Course we were all quite hungry after our early morning boat ride.
Next was another boat ride back across to do the Jaguar Trail trek. We saw some more spider monkeys and even had a close encounter when one ran down the top of a wall we were walking beside. As we hiked the trail l found the heat and humidity becoming increasingly tough to handle but I managed and actually saw some interesting sights. There were a number of different lizards and a couple of bluejean toads. We even glimpsed a sloth in a tree by the sea. The mating hummingbirds though stole the show. First we saw the male bouncing around like he was on a trapeze wire. Then we realized there was a mesmerized female watching from a branch just below. The show went on for at least a quarter of an hour. It was quite a performance. We never did run into a Jaguar on the trail but we did see a tree which was obviously a scratching post for a Jaguar. There were long scratches that reached over the six foot mark.
The final bird show of the day was after another wonderful meal – lunch – when most of us opted for a refreshing swim in the pool and a rest in the lounge chairs though there was a tenacious group that crossed the lagoon to hike uphill for a beautiful view of the lagoon, canal and sea. A boisterous group of aracaris were playing in the trees by the pool. And Dawne spotted a large iguana in the same tree.
Another fine supper that evening encouraged Beth to call out the cooks from the kitchen so we could thank them with a round of applause.