Bird life in the La Selva jungle is abundant, and many of the names of the different species are impossible to remember. But some stand out. Hoatzis live where the little creek opens up into the lake. The hoatzi is a big colourful floppy bird, but a bad flyer, so it doesn’t move around much.

We also see a large kingfisher, the largest in the world our guide says. And a woodpecker with a punky hairdo. A kind of tucan is quite common, as is the black vulture, but we’ve seen that one a lot before, in Peru and on Cuba

When it’s our last day in La Selva, we do a final evening canoe excursion by the shores of the lake, with a detour into the little river. In the night’s stillness there are lots of sounds from birds and insects, but far far away we hear a hollow sound like strong wind through trees. After a while it’s more like the howls of unsavory spirits. The red howler monkeys are starting up their night concert.

When the last of the daylight has gone we see flashes in the riverbanks, the reflections of our torches in the eyes of a caiman hiding in the reeds. We approach paddling slowly, cameras clicking. But when we’re almost right by it, the caiman suddenly dives and is gone.