Sloth hunting in Arenal

One of the animals I (Helen) wanted to see in Costa Rica was sloths. I had seen them in the rescue sanctuary in Monteverde and we saw one as a ball of fur in Carara National Park but not a great sighting. So today we went to walk the Bogarin trails as we had read there was a good chance of seeing them there.

We could have booked a guide, which would have increased our chances but I liked the idea of finding our own (which was also cheaper). After about an hour someone pointed one out - a three toed sloth which was very active, especially considering they sleep about 20 hours a day.

Then later a guide from another group gave us a tip of an area where he had seen one. So off we set and spotted one curled up in a tree and then a mother and baby high up in the canopy. Whilst we had some help for these it was satisfying to have located them ourselves (and save the $70 for a guide).

We also saw lots of pretty birds!Read more