JUST like a day at the beach

I've been regularly riding down to Punta Uva beach (8km flat asphalt each way) in hopes getting in some snorkeling soon.  The surf has been too high though - big waves stir up the bottom silt resulting in zero visibility.  The last couple of days have been calmer though, so I thought I'd take a chance.  I usually ride down there with just a bike lock (no camera, money, sunglasses, etc), since theft of property from the beach is a possibility.  This time I packed the mask/snorkel/fins and camera.

The ride is pleasant enough.  I saw a sloth on one trip, with about 10 people watching it.  There are thousands of trees on the way that could contain sloths or monkeys but the likelihood of spying one is low.

Got lucky again today though :)

Zoomed image of mother sloth & baby

Tried the far side of Punta Uva first (East side of the point, see first pic above).  This is supposed to be the best place to see marine life, but it's also more exposed.  The surf was much lower today, so I geared up.  Unfortunately, visibility was still only a couple of feet.  Loads of fish, but they came up on you quickly.  It was a bit eerie.

Believe it or not, there are two parrot fish in this picture.

Great visibility on the beach though

I moved to the West side of the point hoping for better visibility.  That side is sheltered more, but mostly a sand bottom - not great marine habitat.  It was slightly better, but we're still at least a few days away from decent snorkeling conditions.

I ditched the snorkeling gear and just ended the outing with a swim.  That was interrupted by some excited voices.  There was a family of capuchin monkeys playing in the trees last week, so that was likely it.

Wrong.  Two iguanas were fighting along a steep bank.  The camera was back at my bike, so I just watched the bout.  It didn't last too long though, and the loser scurried away up into the trees.  The winner stuck around the bank long enough for me to get a couple of pictures.  Couldn't get too close though for fear of scaring it away, to the ire of the other onlookers.  And my waterproof camera only has a 4x zoom.  He's about 18 inches long (plus tail).

"Green Iguana"

Yes, sometimes Green iguanas are orange in colour.