We saw a few sloths, many different species of frogs, lizards, an alligator-like creature called a cayman, a stick bug, hummingbirds, a sleeping bee, hundreds of birds settling in to sleep, bats, a monkey-like creature called a kinkajou, spider monkeys, marine turtles, and last but not least, whales!
By far the coolest thing I saw this weekend was the whales! I had never seen them before, so it was an absolute treat to see them on my birthday. At first, we saw a mom with her young one. The came close to the boat. It was cute to see how much smaller the younger whales are in comparison. The mom flipped her tail out of the water for us! We were fortunate enough to see a group of about eight males together, ducking in and out of the water, and blowing air and water through their blowholes. Whales come to visit Marino Ballena National Park every September to breed in the warm water, then go North toward Alaska or South toward Antartica to feed in the cold water.
After going on a few nature walks I've started to get the hang of spotting animals in the wild! The technique is very different in the day and the night. In the day it is helpful to look for trees moving, which is usually a sign of monkeys or kinkajous. It is also helpful to walk slowly and quietly and start very early in the morning to see the most bird activity. Nocturnal animals, or animals who hunt and are active at nighttime, have to be spotted with flashlights. This is useful because various mammals and other creatures' eyes reflect light back from your flashlight!
