A canoe makes no noise. That is the whole point of this tour. Instead of a motor, you paddle the mangrove channels of the Las Baulas estuary at Playa Grande, and the wildlife stays where it is: migratory and resident birds, iguanas, coatis, raccoons, and howler monkeys in the branches above the water. Three hours on the water, three people to a canoe, with a guide trained by us who knows this estuary and its birds. Halfway through we leave the canoes for a short walk into the forest to look for the howlers, then paddle back. Private group only — you never share the canoes with strangers.