The day begins at 5:30 am with a spectacular Pacific Sunrise.....
Laura tells Jerry, our friend from Austin, the names of the various birds we are seeing. She consults 'Birds of Costa Rica' which was a Christmas gift from her sister Susan and brother in law Steve. View from the top floor of Hotel Luna Llena is of the surrounding canopy and the confluence of the Golfo Nicoya and the Pacific Ocean. It is simply stunning.Wildlife watching is hit and miss, and we suppose that some who stay here miss a lot of it. Robert saw a paca, a large rust colored tailess rodent with spots on his way back to the room from the bathroom one night. Besides birds and monkeys, the property also hosts a variety of other animals including paca, pezote, agouti, as well as the more familiar (to us) armadillo, racoon. Skunks here are tiny and spotted, and one waltzed through the main floor after dinner one night!
The 'hotel' is like a hostel in that guests have access to a furnished communal kitchen and dining area. It has thin walls, is simply constructed, the deferred maintenance is an apparent challenge-- a railing installed a bit short moves dangerously when a guest grabbed it to steady hinself down the steep concrete steps. The next rail shows obvious rot from the tropical climate. The monkeys jump up and down and slam on the corrugated plastic roof sometimes lifting up the corners with their hands.
The furnishings, decorations and gardens present, in part, a wonderful ambience for guests. Mother nature does the rest.!
Mantled Howler Monkey often sound off at sunrise and sunset with their booming calls, but also when a loud bus or quad bike strains up the hill past Luna Llena Hotel.
