The Emmo Trail

Spot the Sloth! Our time in Puerto Viejo had come to an end, and it was time to head off to our next stop: La Fortuna! It was  a fairly chunky 270 kilometre drive to the middle of Costa Rica. We were up early, the car packed, and ready to roll. As we said goodbye to our host, Natalie, she mentioned she wanted to try one last time to introduce us to her “pet” caiman. I should probably explain. Natalie would occasionally pop by to check that we had everything we needed. During our stay, we were introduced to her dog, Wolf; once a stray who seemingly decided his wandering days were over and simply stuck around. He’s now a much loved member of Natalie’s family. We saw them heading out on walks several times, and on a couple of occasions Archer even joined them. Running through Natalie’s small plot of land is a narrow stream. Over the years, she explained, she has befriended a caiman who lives there. She would head down to the riverbank, call for him, and he would swim over while s...

Hiking in Gandoca-Manzanillo National Park near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica , was one of the highlights of our time on the Caribbean coast. On our fourth morning in Puerto Viejo, we headed east for the short 35 minute drive to the national park , hoping for an easy jungle hike, quiet beaches, and a chance to spot wildlife along the way. We followed the main road out of Puerto Viejo when, just on the edge of town, traffic suddenly slowed. A quad bike had stopped in the road, just in front of us. A motorbike pulled up alongside, and a couple of locals jumped off to chat to the quadders. In the UK, this would almost certainly have resulted in angry toots, and hand gestures. But here… well… Pura Vida! After a few moments, one of the bikers bent down and picked something up from the road. To our absolute delight, it was a sloth. A real, wild, cute as you like sloth. The biker carefully scampered across the road and delivered the little fella safely to the other side. It was a genuinely jo...