We boarded the collectivo jeep at 6am of what seemed like a gorgeous sunny day. As we moved along towards the town of Carate, on the edge of the park, the clouds rolled in. During a short coffee break, the rain started.

When we got to Carate, we had to hike 3 kilometers along the beach to get to La Leona ranger station. About 5 minutes into the hike, we had to cross a knee-high river. We took our shoes off and trekked the rest of the way barefoot. The rain then came hammering down, and every bit of our gear and our selves was completely soaked.

We got to the ranger station and set up the tent under the only dry spot available. We rested a bit before heading out along the jungle trail. The rain continued as we hiked, which kept the wildlife away for the most part. We still managed to spot a bunch of Scarlett Macaws which were so colorful they seem fake. Also, along one of the rivers edges, we saw a family of Capuchin Monkeys, complete with a baby riding on it’s mother’s back. Very cool. But then they started throwing twigs at us and we decided to move along.

The rains had made the rivers swell to impassable heights, so we could only do a small part of the 16km hike between La Leona station and the currently closed Sirena station. So we relaxed at La Leona for the rest of the evening.