We thought we had a cottage on the outskirts of the village of Paquera, but nothing could be further from the truth. Our cottage is located about 3.5 kilometers from the village, further into the jungle.
Trees that are 15 meters tall. Dutch houseplants that grow so large here that a single leaf is longer and bigger than my upper arm, or a single palm leaf as big as a round rug. If we stand in front of a tree at the edge of the road, the tree only starts with the trunk above our heads. We are right in the middle of the jungle.
And with that, we are also right in the middle of nature. With lots of butterflies, insects, and mosquitoes. Neither of our legs looks very attractive. But then again, who wears shorts in these parts anyway? It can only be tourists, of course.
There are a few large trees in our ‘front yard,’ and for the first two days, we had a visit from a large family of howler monkeys (Congos).
In the morning, it gets light here in half an hour, around 5:00 – 6:00 AM, and just before sunrise, the males start roaring. And in the evening, before sunset. What an intense sound it is, and it even reaches your chest when they are sitting in the tree in your front yard. The sound can carry 3 to 5 kilometers away, so can you imagine what a powerful, deep bass those roars are? The first morning, Arjan woke up to it. The second morning, I woke up to it. The group has split up a bit. We think there is a group of 7 females, including 2 young ones. One Congo is very small and active. A beautiful sight to see. One day we dared to watch the Congos from our veranda. But on the second day, they were sitting so close that we just stayed inside. And on day 3, the males were sitting in the tree, happily eating the leaves. It is a beautiful sight and makes you realize that we are only a small part of nature.
Banana trees and mango bushes, as tall as trees, stand everywhere in the surroundings. Consequently, butterflies fly around everywhere, small and large, in all sorts of colors. Beautiful to see.
In terms of sound, it is always busy outside. We hear so many little birds, just like being in Burgers Bush 3XL, and at night the (cricket) insects are busy communicating. It is never quiet here. Everyone has their own spot in nature.
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