Perhaps the most noticeable and noteworthy land animal in Las Catalinas is the Howler Monkey. "Congos", the locals call them. They make a very deep, loud, gorilla-sounding call. The first time I heard it, I thought that surely King Kong himself was about to burst out of the forest! And then when I realized the sound was coming from this little, less than one-meter high monkey - well it just doesn't seem possible! Howlers are common in our area, and seem to like living in close proximity to humans as long as they have good trees to hang out in. We can count on many of them being our close neighors in the town of Las Catalinas.
Here is some video I took last week of a group of howlers. The picture is not so great, but the sound is pretty cool! Turn it up! (PS - These monkeys are right outside an excellent little inn near Las Catalinas called Los Altos de Eros. This tiny five-room inn has won some incredible awards, including Trip Advior's 2008 # 1 Best Service in World and #1 Best Luxury in World. This is the kind of place we are hoping to have in Las Catalinas soon. Great service and great local flavor.)