Day 7 - Heading out the door to Cabo Blanco

 

Decided to head out to Cabo Blanco National Preserve this morning. It is located only 2km from the house and is truly a natural treasure. We drove to the entrance and then I fired up the Olympus 810 and started to video (with arm out the window), the drive into the park. It was a bit of a challenge trying to keep the camera as still as possible. Haven’t looked at the video yet, but I am sure I will need a Dramamine.

The road ended into a little turn around that could maybe accommodate 7 cars on a good day. Nostros (We) all threw on our backpacks and walked to the main entrance. We met what I believe was a guide, park ranger, or simply a caretaker of the property and did our best to communicate. Park fees were $10 for adults and $1 for the ninos.

The park trail through Cabo Blanco was through the jungle. The trail ended at the very point of Cabo on the ocean. It was going to be 2 ½ to the end and 2 ½ back. Nostros opted for the 1 ½ in instead. The last hour the caretaker said was very hilly. The part we went was somewhat hilly, few rolling hills, occasional step climbs, and a good amount of slight inclines. The walk was phenomenal!!

We started down the trail and stopped by a massive banyan tree which they called the bat cave. Part of the back of the tree was hollowed out. As you looked up into the void, there were several bats taking refugee from day’s illumination. This particular banyan tree was one of the smaller banyans we saw today, but a picture of the Anna and the kids shows how large these trees really are.

Moving forward on the trail and Thomas suddenly spots our first capuchin monkey in the wild. The monkey’s thick hair on its head resembles a monk's cowl. Almost like they’re wearing a little beanie. These guys are some agile and active monkeys. They really take advantage of the use of their tails. We would see more capuchins on our way out later in the day.

As we walked further away from the main gate, the jungle got thicker and light dimmed. Everywhere you turned there was something to be seen. One tree that looked fascinating was one covered in moss. This tree was every bit of a 100 feet tall and looked like it was covered all the way to the top. Another had flowering plants on it as if planters were hanging from the tree. Since most of the jungle is constantly regenerating, there is a lot of decomposition. Where there is decomposition, there are fungi. And we saw some amazing fungi.

Anna and Olivia saw a couple of grey colored deer. We all saw more monkeys, lizards, birds, insects, and a few park patrons. Most of all the animals had stage fright, but we were able to capture a picture of some animals including a wonderful colored lizard and large frog.

This walk today had to be one of the most amazing things we have done since we have been here. You can easily sit you butt down and observe nature here for hours. The walk came to an end at around 3:30pm. The park closes at 4pm on Sundays, so we had to slowly make our way out. I think everyone could have stayed longer. We will definitely come back here again within the week.