Bijagua

Sky blue water drops 30 metres and the pool below holds the same colour. Two hundred and fifty steps drop to a place facing it.

Two clear streams come together and the colour shifts from there. The change of colour is visible right at the join.

A pool along the river shows the colour at its strongest. Nobody may enter and the bridge serves as the viewing place.

Gas rising from the riverbed makes the water look as if it boils. It comes from the volcano and a sulphur smell comes with it.

The volcano carries four peaks and cloud covers it on most days. Minerals from it are what turn the river blue.

Sloths have settled in the farm woodland and stay in the same trees daily. Going at dawn raises the chance of seeing one move.

Red eyed frogs are looked for after dark at a farm pond. By day they cling under a leaf asleep with the eyes shut.

A tower rising above the forest brings the watching up to canopy height. Dawn and dusk are when the most species pass.

A bridge over the river carries walkers into the forest on the far side. The current runs hard below and the noise of it is loud.

Farms in the valley let rooms and visitors sometimes join the field work. Cows are milked in the morning and what is made from it is eaten there.

A private reserve protecting wetland and forest in the Bijagua valley, home to the tapir, Central America's largest land mammal. Tapirs move at night, so the guided walk after dark is the famous one. Guides ask beforehand for silence and dimmed lights.