Jungle Hike at Manzanillo

There's an eight or ten mile hike through the jungle and along the headlands to Punta Mona, where there's a guesthouse run by a group of organic farmers. Many hikers take this trail as a route hike to the village at Punta Mona -- returning down the same trail, or continuing on to the trails' end at the lagoon of Gandoca. The trail starts about 400 yards down the beach from the Maxi Bar in Manzanillo. Walk from the bar down the beach 'til the road -- muddy sand track -- runs down into the brackish creek that crosses the beach and effectively makes Manzanillo the end of the road. 

You can usually wade the creek without taking your hiking shoes off. I crossed without getting anything but the soles wet.

Crossing this trail, and branching off, are other trails used by locals harvesting timber or by workers on the various fincas that divide claim to the area. For our six hour walk through the jungle, we started out on the trail to Punta Mona -- also accessible by boat -- and branched off many times. We also made a number of side trips to see sights invisible from the main trail -- like the giant tree posing with local guide Alaric Allen. It's very likely that experienced hikers could make the trip to Punta Mona without a guide. 

However, it's unlikely that the subtle sights of the jungle -- some of which are shown below -- would reveal themselves to someone not familiar with the forest. Animals like the vipers pictured below and many of the plants would have been more or less invisible without experienced eyes to pick them out. 

Ask for a guide at the Maxi Bar, and sooner or later you'll be introduced to Alaric Allen, "Ricky" to the clients he takes on hikes into the jungle. Ricky and the other guides in his group  have worked to develop meaningful treks, and are knowledgeable about local history, flora, and fauna. Notice the long pants. Just common sense in the jungle where palm trees have trunks covered with three inch spines, ants as big as your thumb are common, and a variety of poisonous snakes, insects, and frogs are readily sighted.

Nope, it's really NOT dangerous at all if you have the experienced eyes and ears of a local guide. 

No deadly bushmasters or fer de lance sighted on this trip, but the leaf viper shown here -- waiting patiently on a leaf by the trail -- is armed with a deadly neuro-toxin. Such a small specimen isn't likely to inject enough poison to cause fatal injury to a human, but Ricky, the guide, carries a stick just to make sure the snakes always know we're coming. This white specimen -- same species as the gold one, waits for lunch on a rock.

These vipers wouldn't mind eating a passing shrew or mouse. They also feed on butterflies and hummingbirds attracted to flowers in the jungle. 

This Owl Eye Butterfly uses his wingtip markings, and his posture, to turn the tables by emulating the aggressive and deadly bushmaster. 

The folded wings silhouette matches a bushmaster's head, and the circular markings match the eye position.

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All photos and content copyright D.B. Smith © 2004