During the night the sound of a heavy downpour persisted. I naively thought "Great! It can't rain this hard for too many hours without a break, so it will be done by morning." O Contrare (pardon my not- quite French.) Our departure was delayed a few hours because the van coming from San Jose was stopped by a mud slide in the mountains. This is a common occurence so no surprise. It was a fine place to be delayed--warm open-air restaurant, views of the Caribbean, pet rhinoceros beetle on the railing, new lakes dotting the landscaping and spilling over the walkways. When we did leave the canal waters were high and the shoreline was noticeably affected with areas of slides and downed trees as well as debris being sent rushing past. A lesson about the power these rains could create. Our rain ponchos borrowed from the lodge were much appreciated. This is certainly a special place.
On the way through Guapiles the same sloth was in the same stand of trees, proving they are called sloths for a reason. We stayed again at Hotel Bergerac, having arrived at a much nicer hour.