We had no plans for today, Friday, but we still woke up near sunrise, hearing birds and howler monkeys. Before breakfast, we walked out to the road to see what birds might be there. Then about 7:30am, we went to the breakfast buffet for a satisfying breakfast that included lots of fresh fruit, pastries and gallo pinto. We spent the morning and much of the afternoon lounging around, either on our second floor deck, next to the river, or near the dining room, finding a few new species of birds too. Chilamate has been a great place for birds.
In late morning there was a downpour that lasted maybe 15-20 minutes, with water streamed off the corrugated metal roofs of the buildings and walkways,
As an aside for insect lovers, there are a few pathways for leaf-cutter ants on the grounds at Chilamate. Here’s one of them:
Before dinner we went to the bar to get a bottle of Imperial beer for each of us, the Costa Rican national beer. Then we helped ourselves to another delicious buffet dinner that included two salads, chicken and fish, rice, vegetables, beans and very sweet pineapple for dessert.
As we walked back to our room, we could hear something calling from the forest that we hadn’t heard before. When we asked the Merlin app to analyze the sound, it told us it was a Crested Owl, which was exciting for us. Then we returned to the room and noticed it was noticeably hotter and/or more humid suddenly, which was similar to what we had experienced last night before it poured down rain. It will be interesting to see if it rains overnight.
Lori's Travels 