More Tortuguero

So on we went on this boat journey, with the weather closing in.

We went past a research station, and therefore the only other person out in these creeks so early, a young research student in his canoe. Costa Rica is big on ecology, and is probably the most stable, as well as bio-diverse, country in Central America in which to to study it.

One of the few birds we came across late afternoon in these channels was this Green Heron, intent on his fishing.

Another Anhinga - a type of cormorant

And then on the underside of a tree trunk, tiny bats, roosting almost like a rash on the bark.

High up in a tree the guide spotted some spider monkeys.

And then we came across some white-faced Capuchin monkeys, so completing the set - Howler, Spider and White-faced, the three main species in Costa Rica. I think our guide felt it was mission completed.

Final destination of the boat was the mouth of the river with its host of sea-birds - I think mostly terns.

So, by late morning we were back at the hotel and it was now raining. Quite hard. Could have settled back into my room, like most sensible people did, but thought I ought to take my camera out again and photograph stuff with added raindrops.

Also this social Flycatcher just arrived and perched nicely on a flower bud for me.

As you can see, he even has a raindrop about to drip off his beak

I also went out to the beach behind the hotel. There is a narrow band of palm trees between the two.

I think this is quite a good shot of the mistiness, the combination of rain and sea spray. This is not a tourist beach; no deckchairs here. Black volcanic sand. No swimming here we were warned, on account of the sharks. And the Sting Rays. And none in the river in front of the hotel either. Crocodiles. Stick to the swimming pools. They are built for a reason.

So lunchtime and we filed back to the shelter of the dining room for lunch. From which we could see just a few yards in front of us on an overhanging a branch a large iguana., also taking shelter from the now quite torrential rain.

And just next to it, a heron similarly trying to get out of the worst of the precipitation.

As you can see, really torrential rain

After lunch I went briefly back to the beach.

But eventually even I decided the weather was too atrocious to stay out in it. We had torrential rain for 14 hours solid.spent most of it in my room, where the lighting was too poor to read easily, and there was no WiFi. And it was so damp that I could see my books and magazines fluffing up from the damp in the atmosphere. Happy to leave next morning, in the hope of finding somewhere drier.