Today was a day for wildlife spotting - both in captivity and in the wild! We hired bicycles for the day from Lisa and headed out toward the Jaguar Sanctuary - on the way to Manzanillo. The rains have finally stopped and we spotted several iridescent Morfo Butterflies (or Mariposa, as they are known in Spanish) fluttering about in the vegetation. The road south is paved and you're completely surrounded by jungle on both sides, a few small hotels and places to eat and the thunderous waves of the stormy Caribbean sea not too far from the road.

Andrew met up with us for the 11:00 tour through the sanctuary (visits are restricted to 2 tours a day to give the animals a chance to relax). The place was started by 2 biologists who came to Costa Rica on assignment, fell in love, bought the place and slowly stared receiving sick and injured animals from people in the area. The sanctuary is extremely well-run and you can see that the animals are all very well looked after.

There is a small army of volunteers that take care of and handfeed the baby animals . Monkeys are even taken on jungle picnics everyday to get them use to wild groups of monkeys and so that they can be reintroduced into the wild when they come of age. With social animals like monkeys, it is vital that they are first accepted by a group before they can be released as they would not be able to survive on their own. The main focus here is that animals are best placed back in the wild - where they belong. For example, baby sloths are released at 18months when they are better equipped to look after themselves.

All levels of the ecosystem are protected within the grounds. They have recently built a large pond and are trying to breed and reintroduce frogs into the environment. The area is famous for the red-eyed tree frog and a tiny, miniature poison-dart frog (and when I say tiny, I mean about the size of a thumbnail!). Unfortunately, frogs are very delicate creatures as they breathe through their skin, so they are very sensitive to pollution, toxins in the environment and changes in weather - they are the proverbial canaries in the mine!

Snakes are a vital part of ecosystem an help to keep the vermin population to a minimum. The collection at the sanctuary is quite extensive as many snakes are attacked and injured by locals who, quite understandably, do not want them living in their gardens and backyards. For example, the Tropical Milk Snake is completely harmless and has evolved to mimic the poisonous Coral Snake so it is often mistaken for that by humans. There is a saying: "If red is touching black - you're ok Jack. If red is touching yellow, run away fellow". But, I think I'd run away regardless!

Rattlesnakes are found in Guanacaste and were brought to the sanctuary as they were being kept illegally as pets - can you believe it? Green Tree Pit Vipers are found in the Monteverde Cloudforests. Eyelash vipers are very common in this part of the world. The most important snake to look out for is the Ferdilance - they bite and kill more people than any other snake in Costa Rica. They are very common and active at night - causing over 80% of any snakebites in Latin America. But Costa Rica produces antivenom which has reduced fatalities from 70% to 5%. Boa constrictors are the largest snakes in Latin America and are highly prized by the illegal exotic pet trade. Bushmaster snakes are very large venomous snakes but very rare and normally only live in primary rainforest, although only 1 person out of 6 has survived a Bushmaster bite.

The centre also has a collection of Bird-eating spiders. They may look bug and hairy and very very scary, but they are very common and don't cause any fatalities. Just a painful bite, that's all!

The bird section has, mainly birds that were injured by cars and left with broken wings. In the case of the Keel Bill Toucan - he has broken his beak and his wing and will likely stay at the centre for the remainder of his life as he would not be able to fend for himself in the wild. The Chestnut Mandible Toucan was brought to the centre as a baby and has a gorgeously colourful beak - what a beauty!

Margays live in the trees and are nocturnal - his name is Diabolino - found as a kitten in the trunk of someone's car being smuggled into Panama. Reaching the age where he should want to find himself a girlfriend as they have attempted to release him into the wild before but he keeps coming back!

Apart from the animals, there is a gear collection of plants such as the Sandbox Tree which has sharp thorns with poisonous sap. I got to hold a Howler monkey when we went into the monkey enclosure. Most of the monkeys that end up here have been orphaned and have to be slowly reintroduced into the wild as they get older. This monkey was a docile, friendly young female that took a shine to me and headed straight for me even though I was terrified of her. I was already dripping with sweat from the heat and after having cycled in the late morning sun, and then to top it all off, I was holding this hot, hairy monkey!

Cycling on to Manzanillo we stopped when Andrew spotted some Howler monkeys and 2 colourful toucans in the dense, surrounding forests. It was great to see them running and flying in the wild instead of cooped up inside a caged enclosure. We arrived at Maxi's Bar & Restaurant in Manzanillo just as a torrential downpour started - luckily we had a good meal and a drink before the 8-mile return trip home!