The rain looked like it might give us a little window to take off and try an excursion. We packed ourselves into the Santa Fe and drove off into the interior for an hour or so to the Tempisque River. The crew at Palo Verde boat tours was waiting for us and we threw Ruben into the car and drove down to the boat launch.

The Palo Verde reserve covers 45,000 acres of varied savannah and wetlands that support a wide collection of animals and birds. We climbed onto our panga with our captain, Cesar. Another couple from Glendora, Ca. with their two young children joined us for an uncrowded boat ride down the river. The first thing we spotted was another boat driver, apparently with some time on his hands, hauling in a massive pompano on his hand line! Hmm….might need to bring poles next time.

We started out upriver without much success in finding animals. A few baby crocs and a bird or two far off in the trees. We doubled back and floated past the boat docks where the iguanas like to hang out looking for a hand out.

Downriver we came upon a passel of reptiles: basilisk lizards, more baby crocs and a tree boa overlooking the water. Cesar had the eye for finding camouflaged animals among the heavy foilage. He had a little mirror he adeptly used to shine a spotlight on creatures hidden in the leaves.

Soon, much to Brendan’s approval, we idled up on a few bigger crocodiles. They came over to check us out as the small boat wake would stir up the tiny shrimp for them to snack on. Glendora Mike’s kids were digging the prehistoric beast as well, with him keeping a tight grip on the youngsters as they leaned over to have a look.

On the return trip, we came across a troop of capuchin monkeys frolicking in the trees on the eastern shore. Smart as whips, they were scoping us out to see if we had anything they could pilfer. Sorry, monos, nothing for you today. We returned to the docks and headed back to the restaurant for some lunch.

Tasty traditional Costa Rican vittles with plenty of home made sandia water. An artesan was giving a demonstration on local pottery making using techniques handed down for generations. Brendan, being the artist of the family, took an interest and got a bit of a private demo before the bus tour got theirs. We got back to the beach for an afternoon surf and evening of thunderstorms.