We (Lavanson, Verdette and I) finally felt it was safe enough to venture out and make a visit to Jaco, where Lavanson's brother (Charles) lives. Jaco is about an hour and 15 mins from Escazú. Charles moved to a new condo about 6 months ago and we had not yet had an opportunity to see it.
We spent 7 relaxing days there and had the opportunity to enjoy some of the beaches, meet up with some friends and also sample some of the restaurants. Sadly during Covid, many businesses, (including some of restaurants, stores and other tourist generated businesses) were forced to close. On the bright side - there have been some new establishments that have opened so we were excited to have the chance to visit them.
Jacó is a beautiful, eergetic beach town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, southwest of the capital city, San José. It's known for its surf beaches and nightlife, and as a gateway to national parks. Rocky, gray-sand Jacó Beach is west of town.
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Instead of starting with day 1 -- I am going to start with our last day
Day #7
We planned to visit the National Park witha couple of visitors to Costa Rica. We hired a guide (I think it would be almost impossible to spot any animals without a guide). Even with a guide you will need to rely on his powerful telescope to see them. You can, however use your phone in connection with the telescope and get very beautiful clear photos. The guide is extra but I can't recall the price. It's probably around $32 for entry and a guide.
We saw many animals including a Fer de Lance - the most dangerous snake of Central and South America, and causes more human deaths than any other American reptile.
We were very happy to spot a mama sloth and her baby. I have some video which I included below.
Sloths—depend on the health and survival of Central and South American tropical forests. They spend much of their lives in the canopy, snoozing and remaining hidden from predators.
The animals live solitary lives and travel from tree to tree using canopy vines.
(tropical forests are some of the most vulnerable to deforestation. Loss of trees means animals are forced to live on smaller areas of land that can’t support healthy populations.
Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate, which means they move at a languid, sluggish pace through the trees. On average, sloths travel 41 yards per day—less than half the length of a football field!
Female sloths give birth to one baby a year after a gestation period of six months. The baby sticks with the mother for about six months, grasping its mom’s belly as she moves through the trees. This is an important bonding period that helps the offspring learn and develop. When the sloth leaves its mom after about six months, it adopts part of its mother’s range, continuing to communicate with the parent through calls.
Jaguars and eagles are common predators of sloths.
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