Bugs, Monkeys and Lizards

We took a river boat cruise to spot wildlife in Palo Verde National Park. It had been 3 days since my parents got here, and until then they had only heard the monkeys in the distance. It was time to see some.

The guided river cruise was great in that they told us all the species you are seeing – especially the birds. We’ve traveled quite a bit to areas where the guidebooks say it’s great for bird watching, but we’re not birders. It definitely makes it more interesting when you have someone to identify them and tell you all about them . We saw at least six types of heron – we even saw a nest with blue eggs.

Up next were the iguanas. We saw plenty along the riverbank, but in one particular spot they seem to be lounging around waiting for us. The guide threw out bits of banana peel and they gobbled it up as quick as they could.

We pulled over and picked a few long seed pods, which the guide said were nicknamed Monkey Guaba. Bode thought they were delicious, the monkeys seemed to prefer the bananas.

When the boat pulled over to a group of Capuchin (white faced) monkeys, they were shy at first. But after a while they were jumping on the boat. We got to feed them bits of banana. We’re not sure this was technically allowed in the park, but the guide provided the bananas and encouraged us. It sure was fun.