Moín

Throughout the night on our journey to Costa Rica, there was a huge lightning storm which lit up the sky. It had passed by the time we arrived in port but the air was still very humid.

Our tour today started with an hour in the protected Tortuguero Canals. We lucked out again with our guide - Jesùs - who talked all about the history and nature of Costa Rica on our drive out. The weather was more overcast than previous days and the ground was still sodden with rainfall. As we drove up the coast, we saw rocks forming the shoreline that had only been there since the 2012 earthquake pushed them up (and at 7.5 magnitude, ruined much of the local infrastructure too). We were lucky enough to see a sloth high up in the tree tops, and a baby sloth hanging on low branches at the roadside as we drove.

Once we had boarded our boat on the canal, we couldn't have been more lucky. We saw a kingfisher, iguana, tiger heron, plenty of other birds, beautiful butterflies and capuchin monkeys. There was also a crocodile at the water's edge making light work of a fish for lunch! To see them all so close up and in their natural habitat was absolutely brilliant, and Ben got some stunning photos of the wildlife.Read more