Enjoy a howling good time monkeying around in Costa Rica

        Costa Rica is a howling good time, even if there’s no monkeying around.
        Love them or not, howler monkeys are an integral part of the natural scene in Costa Rica. These active and vocal mammals stay high in the treetops so they’re not always easy to see but, if they’re talking, there’s no mistaking their presence. Howlers are the loudest mammal on earth, capable of ear-splitting calls as they move through the forest like marauders.
        Howler monkeys represent just one of more species than can be counted in this small, but richly endowed Central American country, home to stunning tropical scenery and an incredible variety of colorful flora and fauna.
        “I love the biodiversity of my beautiful country,” said Eduardo Sanchez, an extraordinary naturalist and wilderness guide associated with Ylang Ylang Beach Resort, one of Costa Rica’s best.
        It is a nature lover’s paradise; likewise for anglers, adventurers, beach lovers, and romantics. The scenery is stunning, the topography dramatic, the wildlife viewing is unmatched.
        “We have five to seven percent of all the species on earth,” Eduardo said. “Hundreds of those species are endemic to Costa Rica.”
        Birders will find paradise in Costa Rica, especially this time of year, when birds are in their breeding plumage, including many that have or will soon head north to the United States to nest. Others, often with colorful tropical names to match their stunning colors, call Costa Rica their home year-round. Count among those scarlet macaws, parrots, mot mots, trogons, and quetzals.
        Like any destination, would-be visitors need to decide on priorities and match those desires with choices. All-inclusive modern resorts are readily available, though often are in high demand, so advance arrangements are important. There are  welcoming coastal communities on both the Caribbean on the east and the Pacific, and mountains and the cloud forest in between.
        “I’m booked solid, working every day for the next year,” Eduardo said. The high demand comes on the heels of two years of COVID isolation when he had no work.
        His home and the destinations he uses for his tours are on the Pacific coast, an area he characterizes as tropical dry forest that’s lush through the rainy season and enters a dry season from December through April. As the dry season wears on, the forest can be crackle-dry and subject to extensive wildfires.
        Excellent resorts like Ylang Ylang, near the quintessentially Costa Rican fishing town of Montezuma, with its own offering of tourist-friendly markets, restaurants, and tour operators, leave visitors – friends as you’ll be called – wanting for virtually nothing.
        At Ylang Ylang, a name taken from the flowering tree that contributes to the scent for Chanel No 5, the accommodations are extraordinary, as is the food which is served in a shaded seaside open air setting. The seaside setting puts cottages and rooms within a few steps of a beautiful ocean beach and surf that rolls in close enough to lull you to sleep at night. Resort staff is extraordinarily friendly, competent, and attentive.
        Costa Rican precautions regarding COVID are thorough and reassuring. When planning a trip, be sure you’ve fully researched travel restrictions and requirements, including COVID testing before returning home.
        For more information visit VisitCosta Rica.com and YlangYlangBeachResort.com.