23 September
Early start again. We booked the Early Morning Tour for 05:20 — and it was absolutely worth it. We set off by boat through the waterways of Tortuguero National Park.
We spotted a spider monkey, a toucan (one of the smallest and most colourful species in Costa Rica), a kingfisher (catching a fish with a swift strike), a Jesus Christ or emerald lizard (young ones can actually run across the surface of the water — hence the name), a snakebird (a water bird that dives to catch its prey; unusually, its feathers are not waterproofed, so it has to spread its wings like a cross to dry off regularly — it gets its name from the way its head pokes out of the water like a snake when hunting),  mini-bats (even with a baby hanging in a row), howler monkeys, and tiny bright-blue birds. Tortuguero is home to over 50% of all monkey species in Costa Rica.

And off we go again to the next tour: the Frog and Butterfly Tour at 09:30. We kick things off with a little "magic trick". If you eat the fruit of the miracle berry tree, you get a "sweetener" effect in your mouth for around 20–30 minutes — even a lemon tastes more like a sweet orange! Coffee can be drunk without sugar as a result. We continue with our guide Dino through the lodge grounds. He shares fascinating facts about the vegetation and the animals that live here. We see a boa constrictor, bats, a giant grasshopper, and make our way past the freshwater turtle pond to the Frog Pond. Here we can photograph the poisonous (warning: do not touch!) black, blue and red miniature frogs. Next to it is the Butterfly Garden, filled with large blue morpho butterflies and many other colourful species from the region. A highlight along the way: a sleeping sloth with its baby on a tree!

14:30: on to the Afternoon Tour through the waterways of Tortuguero. We spot again: spider monkeys, rows of water birds, a sloth with its baby, and beautiful river landscapes.
On the way back we stop once more in Tortuguero, pick up a few souvenirs, and enjoy a cocktail at a café overlooking the river.

You can't find a travel guide about Costa Rica that doesn't feature them: the beautiful red-eyed tree frogs, the unofficial mascot of the country. We were lucky enough to spot them at the pond of the Mawamba Lodge.