Monkeys and spiders and sloths, oh my!

We arrived at the jungle house around 4 in the afternoon and as we all climbed out of the car, we were welcomed to our new home with the sounds of the rainforest. Frogs chirped, birds sang, and animal sounds we had never heard before greeted us. The house was not a fancy house by any means, but it had everything we needed and we quickly figured out where each person would sleep for the next few days. Viktoria chose the room on the top floor. It had the best view. It was an open air room with a wooden spiral staircase in the center of the room that lead to the kitchen down below. Sunscreens made of thick canvas which could be rolled down from the eaves were the only shelter from the elements this room had. Above the bed hung mosquito netting, which we would quickly learn also kept out the many spiders and bullet ants that would come to visit over the next few days. Nathan and Jacob took the bedroom on the main floor and Clint and I took the bedroom in the lower level of the house. Kendall opted to sleep outside on the futon on the porch. Now that we had our sleeping arrangements set up, it was time to go explore, and explore we did.

A short 10 minute walk down a semi paved path lead to a private beach. And a trail that is no longer maintained started out to the north of our front door. We spent the days exploring and were filled with delight with each animal we would find. Sloths hung from the trees, like frozen statues; never moving, never changing. A variety of poison dart frogs and the red eyed tree frogs hopped from branches of trees and plants. Pygmy opossums climbed the huge stalks of the Heliconia plant, purple grasshoppers the size of my hand were everywhere. Howler Monkeys swung from the trees and mesmerized us, but we will write a separate blog about them shortly. Did I mention the giant spiders? Above our heads, the lower branches of the trees were filled with spider webs. I'm not just talking a little web here and there. No, these were like ghostly sheets of webbing that spanned from tree to tree, covering many square meters of the overhead space where thousands of spiders, big and small, occupied small territories within these collective group hunting colonies. To go anywhere on the property we had to hold our breath and pass under these massive interconnected clouds of doom hanging just beyond our reach...just HOPING that none of them decided to pounce on us as we passed by. CREEPY! Here are some of the critters we saw:

Our 1st night in the rain forest house, we were hit with a giant rainstorm. For hours, we were pelted with a heavy downpour that was so loud it woke everyone up. With Viktoria sleeping on the top floor, her ceiling radiated the sounds of a battle scene as each drop landed on the non insulated tin roof. As the storm passed and the sun began to rise around 4:30am, we were all awakened by the demonic howls coming from the trees. Even now, as I write this blog, I picture the grim reaper dragging his scythe when I think of the sounds the Howlers made. Howler monkeys are the loudest monkeys in the rainforest and their cacophonous screeching sounds can be heard up to 3 miles away. A troupe of monkeys settled into the trees right above our house and the strength and volume of their howls will be forever engrained in our memories. The 2nd night in the house, Viktoria slept in Nathan & Jacob's room and though Kendall still remained outdoors, he now slept with a machete by his side :)

Over the next few days, we spent our time boogie boarding, snorkeling and exploring. Though our house was in Playa Chiquita, we were a few minutes drive from Puerto Viejo. This is a cute touristy town filled with colorful shanty houses, smells of marijuana wafting in the air, beach front bars and street vendors lining the road.

In this "off the beaten path" tourist destination it seems that the major mode of transportation is bicycle, because the bikes were more numerous on the narrow roads up and down the beachfront villages than cars. We enjoyed our stay on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and it's laid back lifestyle. We snorkeled, boogie boarded, and explored the rainforest, but mostly just tried to soak in the slower pace of life.