Mexican Porcupine, Tortuguero

We spent most of Friday 14th March travelling between Tortuguero on Costa Rica's northern Caribbean coast and our next destination in the Central Highlands, Muelle de San Carlos. A boat trip followed by a drive along a dirt road before joining the main highway over two hours later.

It was not a day for sight-seeing, although the scenery along the way was interesting and even attractive in places. Thank goodness, then, that the highlight of the day came as we walked to breakfast before our departure. A Mexican Porcupine curled up in a tree within our Pachira Lodge resort, just waiting to be photographed. He even opened his eyes for the group of eager photographers gathering below. On the way back from breakfast he was still there, but had decided that enough was enough and had curled up, hiding his face in the process. Sometimes it's all about luck.