Monkey See, Monkey Do

We woke up to rain. Like, lots and lots of rain. And while B was wide awake at 6:45 and could have made our 7am gym reservation, I was not as enthusiastic. The rain outside made staying in bed longer feel even more necessary. We lazed around, realized that we probably weren’t going to make it to the hot springs in this weather, and were able to change our gym reservations to a little later. We got in our workouts in the paltry gym before rushing to our breakfast reservation.

I really do love the way they make their breakfast omelettes here! The breakfast is a large buffet with an omelette station and the omelette chef actually cooks all the filling first, before adding eggs to the griddle and enveloping the filling within. Soooo good! I had a large plate of fruit to go with my delicious omelette and my belly was happy. But it was raining harder and harder. There goes the potential hike I had in mind. We returned to our room after breakfast, not knowing what to do for the day.

I checked in with work (my team is awesome!) and somehow found a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility that does tours; about 45 minutes away. They only offer tours twice a day and, lo and behold, they had room for a 1pm! Tickets purchased to tour Proyecto Asis, we cleaned ourselves up and put ourselves together for the day. We’d have about 45 minutes to spare on our way there so the plan was to check out the La Fortuna Waterfall on the way to see if it would be worth spending time at on the way back. It’s only 400 steps each way so the timing should be just right.

The rain had stopped so we thought, just maybe, the afternoon would clear. As we got into La Fortuna we took a side road and followed the map to the waterfall parking. To a packed parking lot. And a line of people waiting at a kiosk to buy tickets to access the waterfall. No, no, no, no no. Too many people and, I’m sorry, but having to buy tickets to see a waterfall? One that we didn’t even know we’d want to come back to and didn’t have time to hang out by now? Even if it was awesome? Which nothing is that awesome with that many people around. Nope. We turned that car right around and continued on our trek.

This road let us to B’s first taste of food from a Costa Rican soda (their little road side restaurants) as a little kiosk of fried chicken came into view. That man is a fiend for some fried chicken and always down for a snack so it was a very necessary stop. Ordering the chicken pieces was more difficult than I thought it would be given our lack of Spanish mastery (I still need to figure out how to say drumstick) but we managed and the friendly ladies behind the counter were as amused as we were as we tried to communicate. A little fruit stand stood next door and we got two fresh coconuts to drink with our snack. Holy crap, that fried chicken was beyond delicious. Perfectly seasoned, not at all greasy, a balance of flavors, and moist meat. B declared that it was the best fried chicken he’s ever had. I had to agree. The grand total for our little snack stop, chicken and fresh coconuts (shaved and with a straw stuck in them) was under $4 USD.

With nothing else really on the way, we made it to Proyecto Asis early. The rain had pretty much been holding off and the air was warm and humid. Our guide greeted us and showed us a traditional way of making coffee while we waited for the other couple that had registered for the 1pm tour.

At 1pm sharp, our guide pressed a button and slid the large iron gate to the center shut. Apparently they do not mess around with people running late and we would be getting a private tour. Proyecto Asis takes in injured and confiscated wildlife and rehabilitates them for return to the wild. Animals that can’t be returned to the wild are given a good life and used as education ambassadors. Our first introductions were to two blue macaws. Blue macaws are native to Brazil and legal to keep as pets in Costa Rica but red macaws are native to Costa Rica and therefore not legal to keep as pets. Basically, no native Costa Rican animal can be kept legally as a pet. These two blues both had broken wings and would never be returned to captivity since they cannot fly. Macaws can live to 100 years old and they are only around age 20 so they have many years ahead of them. Since they cannot fly, they did not even have a cage, instead they had long perches connecting play structures, shelter, and their food station to a large tree so they could live the best life as wild as they could.

We were introduced to many parrots that were once pets; during COVID many many parrots were turned over to the sanctuary when their owners grew tired of their loud squawking and talking while stuck in their homes with them. The different types of parrots take 18 months to 4 years to lose their interest in humans and be able to be released back to the wild as they have to learn to be wild again. A cage of beautiful toucans that were also once pets captivated me. So pretty! They too had all been illegal pets. Our guide showed us what a long way to go they have before being released as one of the toucans in particular hopped over when he saw us approach and stayed as close to us as it could while we moved around the enclosure. In nature, toucans are rarely even seen and definitely do not, should not, have an interest in interacting with humans.

A pair of older spider monkeys lazed in their own enclosure; they are too old to be released, both in their 20s, while the typical lifespan in the wild is 15 years. Spider monkeys are sweet and curious monkeys that avert their gaze to show submission as soon as you look at them. Enclosures of younger monkeys were much more active and we learned which stage towards release each was in. Again, a process that could take years. The pet monkeys that end up at the center don’t know how to monkey and the best way to teach them is by the example of older monkeys who are figuring it out; quite literally, Monkey See, Monkey Do. So they keep the enclosures of the groups at different stages side by side so they can learn from each other.

A lone female howler monkey was in another enclosure. She was young and made some sounds like she was trying to eek out a howl. She’s been learning from the howler monkeys that live in the wild around the sanctuary and she showed us how fierce she was by baring her teeth and biting her tail.

The white faced monkeys looked like little old men. And the young alpha looked scared when he tried to show us who was the boss. We learned that white face monkeys live in large groups, about 20, with one alpha male and the rest females. When babies are born the alpha male will go through and ensure that all the male babies are abandoned and only the females are raised in the family. Only about 5% of the abandoned males survive. Eventually, one of these survivors will capitalize on a male in a pack getting older and take over, kicking the older male out of the pack to live on his own. Our guide called this, simply, karma. Sometimes the older displaced males will band together and form their own groups as they can be together so long as there’s no females around.

Deeper in the center, a wild white faced monkey swung thru the trees overhead, near an enclosure of younger males. The guide explained that they call this wild monkey Mafia and he moved himself in about six months; he’s probably a displaced older male. When he found the sanctuary he found the enclosure of males that he could bond with, and he also found their food. Apparently he’s a lazy monkey and discovered the value of a free meal. But Mafia was not too lazy to show us who was the boss! As we neared the enclosure of youngsters he came flying onto the roof of the structure, showing his teeth, hissing at us, and establishing his dominance. One particular youngster came jumping over, handing something to Mafia through the cage and then timidly trying to show us his dominance; Monkey See, Monkey Do. It was the cutest thing to see him copying Mafia and what a paternal figure Mafia was to him; at times reaching his arm into the enclosure to pet the youngster and even wrap his arm around him. The guide assured us that Mafia wouldn’t actually lunge at us but I was happy to slowly back away.

A beautiful young cat, a margay, like a mini ocelot, looked regal in another enclosure. She’s starting to hunt her food and is closer to being released into the wild. The problem is finding the right place to release her as if she ends up in another cat’s territory they’ll attack her. She was stunning and looked annoyed by the rain. Oh yes, the rain. Torrential downpours had started again just minutes after our tour commenced. The guide had ran to get us umbrellas and they *kind of* helped keep us dry.

The peccary enclosure was beyond stinky thanks to their odor glands and I wished the guide would hurry it up so we did not have to linger in front of them. One was voracious and kept pushing his snout through the fence trying to grab anything he could, including taking a nibble out of an umbrella. They will be easy to return to the wild soon. There is no legal hunting in Costa Rica (the country is too small for species to sustain themselves if hunted) so they are safe from human predators despite their natural curiosity and lack of fear.

The little pond at the center had other voluntary residents, a caiman (that would be a mini CROCODILE) and a snapping turtle that had made their way there via a little river on the property. The guide tried to explain that, at only 6 ft long, the caimans were not dangerous but I call complete BS on that. While I thoroughly enjoyed our tour, the rain and dripping umbrellas were annoying and we were not sad when it was over. We took kitschy picture and bought chocolate bars, to support the monkeys of course, before we departed.

Having not had a proper lunch, we were ready for some food and stopped at a soda that had a gorgeous view overlooking a lush nursery from the open-air seating. We ordered a couple Imperials, the popular Costa Rican beer, and looked out over the lush landscape. And then it started to rain, like really rain, like pour, and we actually had to retreat further into the soda to escape the fierce wet drops. But it didn’t matter; my shrimp fried rice was ridiculously good and Brandon’s fajitas were as well. I was excited for him to be getting a taste of the wonders of Costa Rican sodas.

As though the meal, which including beers only cost about $15, was not enough; we stopped AGAIN at the fried chicken stand on the way back to get a snack for later. We also stopped at a little local market and enjoyed scouring the aisles in amazement at the great prices.

We got back to Tabacon as it was getting dusky and, once again, went to the hot springs to unwind for a bit before dinner. It was raining lightly and we enjoyed another cocktail from Shangri La as we soaked in the warm springs. I had worn my Apple Watch so we could make sure to keep track of time for our dinner reservation and learned a tough lesson; it’s not so water tight when the screen has a crack. RIP Apple Watch, it’s been nice wearing you the last few years.

I was, again, grateful for the hot springs locker room shower with the better shower head and hotter water for my post-springs shower. Back in our resort room, we were grateful for the provided umbrellas as it started to fiercely rain during our short walk to the main restaurant, Las Trucanas, where we had dinner our first night. The experience was the complete opposite of that first dinner. Sadly, we found it quite disappointing this time. The service was non-existent. We were there for over two hours. B’s cocktail came out, at least 15 minutes before mine. As we sat and waited, we brain stormed where our December 2022 trip would be. Belize? Dominican Republic? So many options!

I enjoyed our appetizers of mussels and a “wood salad,” which was basically a salad of very al-dente veggies dressed in pesto with three small pieces of tuna. Throughout our ridiculously drawn-out meal the wind and rain picked up and it actually became a little cold in the open-air restaurant. We could hear guests at other tables complaining amongst themselves over the slow service Right before dinner we had realized that we also didn’t get turn down service tonight; maybe they were operating with limited staff so they could send people home due to the storm?

The umbrellas were an even more important amenity after dinner as the rain pounded. Almost the moment we walked back into our room the skies really opened up and heavy rain transformed into absolutely torrential downpours. Throughout the night we could hear the storm with the howling wind and extreme rain. I felt for all the animals outside in this crazy weather. But we were in the actual rainforest after all!