Morning, Monkeys, and Casa del Mar

Thursday, February 21

A relaxing, low-key day began with Bob, Richard, and I walking down the beach into town and to the Soda Jardin Tropical for breakfast, while Janet stayed back and relaxed around the pool. Breakfast at this open-air soda was a typical Tico breakfast, with rice and beans, eggs, tortilla, fresh fruit, and coffee. Haunting the customers in this small soda was a Costa Rican Bluejay that perched nearby and waited for a chance to snatch a bite - no such luck, sorry bud!

Afterwards we walked half a mile or so to the Pacifico complex and the big supermarket there, the Auto Mercado. And then we took a taxi back to the condo with our groceries.

We had a lazy afternoon, grazing lunch when we felt like eating, taking a siesta, reading, swimming in the pool. Mid-afternoon, the truck from the German Bakery came by, and Janet and I looked over their wares and purchased several tasty items to sample - apple cheesecake, lemon cake, coconut square and chocolate sandwich cookies.... yum!

Late afternoon, after the heat of the day had passed, we walked to the beach with the intention of heading into town. But then, we heard the sounds of the Howler Monkeys not too far away and followed their deep-throated guttural howls to the trees where they were. Two large male Howlers were making a racket and at first we thought they were challenging each other. But after a while, we saw what was causing the ruckus. A smaller monkey appeared on a lower branch and we realized that it wasn't a Howler. It was a white-faced monkey (a Capuchin), apparently alone.

This was an anomaly. White-faced monkeys are not known to be inhabitants of El Coco. And this was only one monkey, not a troop. My theory is that someone had a pet monkey and let it loose here. It is not likely to survive the challenge of a troop of Howlers. While the male Howlers were threatening the intruder, the two female Howlers were gathering their babies and moving them further away. We left the scene before the stand-off was resolved and before dark, when the monkeys settle down for the night. We are all wondering how this wildlife drama played itself out.

After exploring the town a little, we settled on a new restaurant to try - Casa del Mar, which is located in the Coco Beach Hotel. It's an outdoor restaurant on the second floor with a view of the street. We had delicious seafood, excellent service, wonderful conversation, and an entertaining view of the main street in town. It was a fun evening.

Richard, Janet, Connie, and Bob at Casa del Mar restaurant, El Coco, Costa Rica.

 

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