On my first afternoon in Puerto Viejo, I visited Ara Manzanillo, a refuge for the beautiful Great Green Macaws. Great Green Macaws are a critically endangered parrot of Central America and adjacent South America. Numbers vary, but there are less than a few thousand birds in the wild. Of that, about 500 are in the Ara Manzanillo area. Ara Manzanillo is an organization working to rebuild the population of Great Green Macaws. They do that by conserving the large almond trees on which they depend, and encouraging reproduction by using nest boxes. They have been very successful and birds have dispersed to other areas along the Caribbean coast. They do some supplemental feeding every day at three o'clock, which presents a great opportunity to see the birds. They are beautiful. They would fly right over our heads.
Also in the area was a group of spider monkeys. So fun to watch them swinging through the trees.
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