From Monteverde we went to San Jose, stayed the night but arrived late and left early and saw barely any of the city. The next morning a load of us, Adam, Ianthe, James, Shayne, Lachie and I (all solo travellers forming our own group), rented a car and had a mini road trip from San Jose to the Sloth Sanctury to Puerto Viejo. The Sloth Sanctuary was my first time ever seeing sloths and was well worth it.
First we took a boat ride along the jungle river, infested with sounds of crickets and various other animals. It was absolutely teaming with wildlife from crocodiles (of which we saw only the bubbles of their breathing as they sank under to hide from us and the boat) to families of bats hiding beneath low hanging branches.
Next we were shown inside the sloth sanctuary and got to meet adult and baby sloths and hear the stories of how they came to the sanctuary and the ways in which they are cared for. Two sloths were cuddled together and refused to leave each other's side and we were told they'd been together since they were babies and were now inseparable.
We also got to feed one off the baby sloths hibiscus flowers and hold a sloth in order to feel how strong their grip was. Sloths are almost purely muscle mass, can turn their heads all the way around like an owl and if you ever find a sloth who's fallen out of a tree they will have a branch in their hands as their grip never fails them. Such amazing creatures who ultimately, according to evolution, shouldn't even exist.
A good day out; I loved the sloth sanctuary.