Two buses and a ferry

Second day and we took two buses then a ferry to reach tortuguero national park. I wrote a long blog about the great journey but I think it got lost in the atmosphere. Suffice to stay I was not impressed with the good having nibbled on a empanadas which was really not pleasant. But the journey to our hotel through the canales was amazing and I felt like we were on the set of Planet Earth. We saw two kingfishers – the Amazon kingfisher and the ringed kingfisher – and a Jesus Christ basilisk. For those that don’t know – a Jesus Christ basilisk is a lizard which wakes on water – so cool. Last night,  we went on a night tour – was a little disappointing but I think that was the jet lag kicking in rather than the non appearance of a sloth. However the food has turned up and we went to a great Jamaican where the chefs salad was delicious and I was able to reach for my phone. 
Today we have been on a sunrise canoe trip – got up at 5am and it was already light. The canoe trip included some fantastic sights – Sue, John and Erika look away now – green kingfisher and a ringed kingfisher (catching a fish!), tiger heron (and a juvenile), green heron, snake bird (anhinga) male and female, keel-billed toucan, green macaws, snowy egret, montezumas oropendola, jacana and a boat billed flycatcher. Moving on to the reptiles – we saw some more Jesus Christs and a Cayman. Lastly, there were howler monkeys putting on a show and spider monkeys. What a fab place. Below are a collection of photos – spot the seat back of the bus which I had to look at for a few hours yesterday…