So today I went for a walk into the Cahuita national Park and I wasn´t disappointed! What a beautiful walk! As it´s a coastal National Park the trail runs mostly between the tropical rain forest and the beach. I was awake stupidly early at 5.30am after a bad night´s sleep as it was so hot so decided to get up and go early. A good idea as it wasn´t quite so hot then. Had breakfast in a cafe and set off on the walk at 7.30. It wasn´t long before I saw my first lot of monkeys, though I heard them before I saw them, they make this sound, whilst not actually howling they sound a little like dogs barking. So I stood watching the monkeys for a little while before continuing my walk. I passed a total of about 10 people coming in the opposite direction, which was really nice as you really felt like you had the walk to yourself, very peaceful and enjoyable, though also very hot, sticky and humid! It was my ideal walk, on the flat (ha ha!), but felt hard going at times due to the humidity .However I took it easy and it was more of a stroll! After a couple of hours I sat down for a drink and heard the familiar sound of treees rustling overhead. It wasn´t long before I saw 3 more howler monkeys, including a really small baby one! Very cute! One of the bigger ones and the baby one were playing in the trees quite close to me so it was easier to make them out amongst the trees and leaves, and I got some good photos. I could sit and watch them for ages, swinging in the trees. I didn´t see a sloth which I´d hoped to see but saw loads of llittle lizards and one big one. Also saw 3 types of crab. One was of a bluey colour, not seen that before! Another was the type that have a shell and as soon as they hear/sense people they go inside the shell, then come out when they think it´s safe. The walk is 7km long and took me 3 hours 15 minutes, but like I said I was not walking at a fast pace and I stopped several times to watch the monkeys. I cheated the last part of the walk, the extra 2km from the ranger station to the road as the Tourist police stopped and offered me a lift. I declined at first, but then decided as it was the Tourist Police it´d be ok. They were very friendly and keen to know what I thought of their country and where I´d been. I must´ve just missed the bus back to Cahuita, so ended up waiting an hour! It was at this point that the rain I said would be refreshing came! Light at first and it was refreshing but it turned into a heavier downpour, so I was a quite wet by the time I got back to town! It did bring the temperature down a bit and was cooler for a while. Feels humid again now though. The sky is pretty grey, I think the clouds will be staying for the rest of today with possibly more rain. The National Park was well worth the visit and I´m glad I made the decision to come here, although any of the other national parks would be great too, just not possible to do them all.

Sunday evening- Just got in from having dinner and I saw my first sloth! Very exciting! The chef pointed it out as it was hanging off a cable outside the restaurant! I hadn´t been 100% what to look for but now I know. It was kind of like a big ball of fur, a bit ragged looking, scratching itself and hanging off the cable! I had been thinking of going to a nearby sloth sanctuary tomorrow before I head off down the coast. I think I will as it´d be interesting to find out more about them.