Our last morning in Costa Rica was spent kayaking the Rio Penas Blancas with a “float safari” group – I’m not doing a full post because it actually was the only experience we had in Costa Rica that wasn’t great. We did see some cool animals, including long-nosed bats, squirrel monkeys, several kinds of kingfishers, an American crocodile, and a juvenile sloth way up in a tree.

I was also a little on edge because when we got back to our hotel, we had our COVID test scheduled – this was the days when a negative COVID test was required to get back into the United States, and while I felt fine (and had barely been inside for the last week and a half) I was terrified of the idea of a positive test stranding me in Costa Rica. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when the test was over – and negative, so we were cleared to go home the next day, whew – and we decided to celebrate with one more adventure. Our guide from Monteverde, Felix, had recommended a trail called the Bogarin Trail, which starts from practically the middle of downtown La Fortuna.

We ate a quick lunch, then drove over to the trail and decided our mission was going to be to spot a sloth.

This looks promising.

We’d seen a sloth about a hundred feet up in a tree in Corcovado National Park, and a young one nestled – and well camouflaged – in a tree on the Rio Penas Blancas that morning, but we wanted a really good view before we went home. The first clue came when we saw a cluster of people gathered around a guide with a scope, peering up into a tree.

Well, there you are!

This was an adult female, very slowly and meditatively chewing her way through a lunch of green leaves.

We walked a bit further along the trail and were stopped by another group, who pointed out a small spur trail and promised an extra special treat just on the other side of a line of trees – a mother sloth and baby! We thanked them, hurried over the spur trail, and found several guided groups gathered around and taking in this sight:

It does not get cuter than this.

Eventually, the mother sloth decided to move up the tree, and we watched as she cautiously picked her way along the branches.

I seriously could not get over those fuzzy little arms and legs clinging to Mom. Reminded me of Nugget, but you know – fuzzier.

Eventually, Mom and baby made their way up into the higher branches, and we decided to move on and see if we could find “our own” sloth – i.e. without the clue of a big group of tourists clustered around a guide. We picked our way along the trail at sloth pace – it was definitely the slowest we’ve ever hiked – craning our necks up into the treetops. Eventually, we were rewarded when Steve pointed and called out that he’d spotted something:

That’s another mom and baby pair!

Such an amazing sight and a total treat – definitely the best way to say goodbye (for now, because we’ll definitely be back) to Costa Rica. We watched this pair for a long time, then – grinning broadly – made our way back to the trailhead. There was one more treat in store for us, though: the park staff had a suite of birdfeeders and tropical fruits that they kept constantly replenished, and a rainbow of colorful birds were hopping around enjoying the feast.

What a way to bid Costa Rica farewell! We were ready to go home – missing the kids, that is; I think we could have stayed for years if they were with us. But we were bringing home a store of memories of adventures and surprises, and definitely planning to return. For now, though, it was time to get back to real life.

This is the end of our time in Costa Rica – for now, anyway, because as noted above we’ll definitely be back. But it’s not the end of Friday travel posts! I’m still way behind and have plenty of adventures to share. Next week, it’s back to Central America: over the summer, Steve and I spent a week being “digital nomads” in Roatan, Honduras – scuba diving in the mornings and working in the afternoons. I won’t go day by day, but I do have some underwater highlights to share with you. Check in with me then!