During our stay at Playa Coco we quickly became friends with the locals. The local animals, that is! Playa Coco is “home” to several stray dogs and cats, and of course I wished I could take all of them home with me. Since that wasn’t an option, I did the next best thing. I saved my table scraps and shared my Nutri Grain bars (which Rob was not happy about) and we put out fresh drinking water every day. These dogs were so stinking cute, and even though you could clearly see how famished they were, they sat patiently and politely waiting for whatever food you could spare (rather than nearly taking your hand off as some pets do when you give them a treat!)

I named the dog above Baby Girl. She had already had at least one litter, but I could tell from her teeth that she was still just a pup herself. She was covered in fleas and I could see way too many ribs, but she was so sweet! Even when I had no food to give her, she was content to just chill on the patio with me while I read.

We also got some face time with a few Howler Monkeys in the trees right outside our condo. I was super excited to see them up close because Rob and I could always hear them during our honeymoon in Costa Rica, but we never really got a good view of them. Howler Monkeys rarely ever come down from the trees, making them much harder to see close-up. Luckily for us, we had a sweet roof-top deck that allowed us a great view!

The sound of a Howler Monkey is quite unique. I recently learned that they are actually the loudest land animals on the planet! I would never have guessed that these little guys could beat out the roar of a lion or the trumpet of an elephant, but I guess it is true. The only creature louder than a Howler Monkey is the Blue Whale.

If you have never heard a Howler Monkey, click here for an audio clip.

Finally, Rob had a rather unpleasant experience with the local wildlife when he got stung by a jellyfish. You know who didn’t get stung by a jellyfish? That’s right… me, because I don’t go in the water! It’s dangerous in there. I did, however, feel like I was obligated to offer to pee on him to alleviate the stinging (and I guess some people are just into that kind of thing anyway), but he promptly declined my offer (as well as opted out of going back into the ocean for the rest of our trip!)