Bajo del Tigre Hike = Monkeys!!

I can't believe it took us this long to hike trails in Bajo del Tigre. It's right next door! I think it's because we couldn't take the dogs with us so kept putting it off. So we were chilling on the patio one afternoon watching the birds flit around and Hannah and Francisco stopped by and decided it was time for a hike. Not the best time of day because the bird viewing slows down a bit in the afternoons.

But we did see some Motmots as we headed across the pasture to the trail.

And some lovely Poinsettias growing nearby.

Lots of different trails in this area and they are all labeled. They also have plants labeled. This one below was easily recognized as sage when you crushed its leaves.

 

We were specifically looking for the Long-tailed Manakin which is quite a striking bird. I'd seen one in our yard before. We heard them along the trail but could  never spot one. Here's what they look like.

And then Francisco had us all stop and listen. What sounded like a bird call was actually one lone white-faced monkey out in the trees! We spotted him! Would have missed him completely if we hadn't had Francisco there.

Once the males reach a certain age they are kicked out of the troop and live alone unless they can find their own troop to take over. It's called being a bachelor.

 I'm not sure what these pods are but you don't want to touch them. They look like they'd be soft but they create an allergic reaction.

 Breathtaking views at the end of the trail!

If you'd like to learn more about Bajo del Tigre you can read the TripAdvisor reviews. They had 4.5 stars there.

And then we heard it again. Monkeys! And this time it was a whole troop of them moving through the treetops and leaves and branches were falling everywhere as the monkeys foraged for food. Exciting!  And on our hike back up the trail - another troop! There were baby monkeys holding onto their mother's backs and some were down out of the trees and walking towards us on the trail. Francisco told us NOT to smile at them as showing your teeth is a sign of aggression. Some of the monkeys were definitely showing their teeth if we got too close.

 

We took the road home instead of cutting through the field. This is the lane where we have to walk by the vicious dogs with their snarling heads poking through the bars of the fences. And guess what. Without Hector, those dogs just weren't all that interested in barking at us. I think they were truly disappointed. It was kind of sad. Hector really makes their day!