Howling monkeys and a visit from nature in Porto Viejo.
After San Jose we headed to Porto Viejo, it turned into a 6-hour drive to cover 120 miles thanks to it being their public holiday and a new road being constructed by a few blokes with pickaxes.
It was worth the drive when we saw the Caribbean beaches and pulled up into our Eco-friendly hotel. When we say ecofriendly, it was basically in the middle of the jungle. Wooksie looked particularly alarmed at the proximity to nature and the potential for insects and panicked when I opened a window to look outside.
We stayed at the Cariblue Beach and Jungle Resort. The hotel is very unusual, the whole place is in the jungle and made out of bits of the jungle, everything is wood and ecofriendly. That is OK other than it would have been nice to have a kettle so we can have a cup of tea in the morning.
So, an evening in a beach bar, sushi and listening to a decent DJ helped us get over the journey and ready for the fun to begin. In the middle of the night, nature took over, there was an almighty racket when two gangs (troops) of Howler Monkeys started to have a row about territorial rights over the hotel trees.
They are called Howler Monkeys for a reason, what a bloody racket and it went on all night until it was time for breakfast.
Our first sloth
Up early, we were off on our Sloth Hunt, which involved a walk through a bit of forest and a kayak ride through the jungle. The Sloths were quite accommodating, and we spotted a couple almost immediately on the walk, then we found a troop of Howler Monkeys, who looked rather exhausted and docile, presumably after their overnight punch up at our hotel.
We drifted through the jungle, Wooksie had her first kayak ride and saw lots of turtles and stuff but apparently, we aren’t allowed to eat Sloths, just look at them, which is a bit of a shame. I suspect that we are going to see an awful lots of Sloths, but it is quite exciting when you see the first ones.
We then settled into another beautiful evening on the beach, listening to tunes and drinking cocktails. I noticed on the horizon a few clouds with great storm pillars in them, which I noted and then forgot.
Visit from the Weather God
We had just finished a lovely meal when the waiter approached and asked us if we would like a table inside – “no thanks mate, we are British, a little rain is fine”.
Soon the few drops became a little more incessant, I assured Wooksie it was nothing to worry about, just a passing shower and nothing to worry about.
The rain then got heavier,, so we opted to sit under a grass shelter and continue with our evening, listening to the music and chatting.
Unexpectedly, and to my surprise, the rain got even heavier. At this point, the DJ was forcibly removed by the bar owner due to the imminent threat of him being electrocuted by the rain storm, and specifically the lightening.
We also noted that there was now a stream running under our table, and within minutes, there was definitely a river running under out table.
At this point Wooksie enquired as to whether I had a plan, which luckily, I did. I tried to attract the waiter to order a couple more cocktails. Wooksie intervened and asserted the need for a plan to get home, not another drink. We decided to make a dash for it and became immediately soaked as soon as stepped out from the shade.
The whole world had flooded while we were sat at that table, it was like there had been a biblical event while we were discussing important matters like which was our favourite beach bar in the world.
We waded through the floods and discussed whether we might need an Ark in the morning rather than a kayak. Luckily I lent Wooksie my hat to keep her dry.
So, we arrived back at the eco friendly which was now an under water hotel, and we were grateful that we were on the first floor not ground level, though any snakes or creatures that were on the ground would surely have drowned.
On the bright side, this should make for a much more exciting white water rafting expedition on Monday!
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