When you are travelling from San Jose in the Central Valley, towards the Caribbean coast, you pass one of Costa Rica’s gems: the sloth sanctuary Aviarios del Caribe. Located on the road from the city of Limon to Puerto Viejo, just before reaching the town of Cahuita. Sloths belong to the most intriguing animals that inhabit the rainforests all over Costa Rica. Because they live high up in the trees, move very slowly and have an excellent camouflage, sloths are often hard to spot. And even when you spot them it is very hard to get a good picture without the use of professional photo camera’s and lenses. The sloth sanctuary Aviarios del Caribe offers you the opportunity to have a close encounter with these fascinating animals. The natural habitat of the sloth is threatened by humans. Deforestation, the construction of roads that divides the forest in little patches make the existence of the sloth in Costa Rica harder. Many sloths are killed or wounded when they have to cross the road in their search for food. Sometimes baby sloths, who cling to their mother’s fur when they are still nursed, lose their grip and fall down. The mother doesn’t go down to rescue her child and the baby sloth will most certainly perish. The sloth sanctuary Aviarios del Caribe provides a safe-haven where the wounded sloths can treated and the baby sloths be nursed and when fully recuperated will be brought back to their natural habitat. The sanctuary is run by the Buttercup Foundation, named after the first baby sloth that was rescued, which has a mission to create awareness of the complexity en vulnerability of the rain forest and is dedicated to educate the public by developing school programs, enable further scientific research on sloths and to create a refuge for the threatened sloth. The sloth sanctuary Aviarios del Caribe offers a tour that begins with a short introduction about the sanctuary and the way sloths live. After that you can meet the residents. You can even decide to adopt one of the sloths. The Caribbean coast of Costa Rica does not offer many opportunities for trips on a rainy day. The sloth sanctuary, which is close to Cahuita is a perfect destination whether it’s dry or wet. The sanctuary can also provide lodging, so sleeping over can be arranged. The bus service between Puerto Viejo and Limon is excellent, so even public transportation can be used.