Tortuguero

Hello! I was planning to post a blog entry while in Tortuguero, but I had no cellular data, and the Wi-Fi was really rough so now I am doing an overview of my trip! I left La Fortuna bright and early on Saturday morning and got picked up by a group shuttle. They drove us to a base camp sort of place that they have and gave us a delicious breakfast. I made a new friend who is also a solo traveler, and she is from Germany! We sat next to each other on the next bus and on the water shuttle that we had to take. We also ended up doing a lot together! During the bus ride we learned about banana harvesting here and that 75% of people on the Caribbean coast work in that industry. We saw carreros transporting 25 bunches of bananas only with the strength of their bodies. We saw the planes they use to spray pesticides on everything and also how they prepare the bananas for sale. It was so cool. We also rode on a boat to get here which was an awesome experience. Tortuguero is only reachable by boat and plane. There are no cars here. Here’s some pictures from the travels.

Then we got to the village and a woman walked me to my hotel. It was my own room and bathroom which was nice, but the Wi-Fi situation was not ideal. Power goes out regularly there and I did not have any cellular connection, so I decided to just take off two days of work and leave early. The original plan was to leave on Friday, but I ended up leaving Tortuguero on Tuesday because I felt like I had done a lot of the things that I had wanted to and because I was not able to work.

That first night I met up with my new German friend and we walked around the town together and got dinner and a drink. On our way to Tortuguero, our guide told us about a drink called Coco Loco which is really popular in the region. It is rum and coconut milk; I got one and it was absolutely delicious. The next morning, we went on a canoe tour that started at 6am because it is best to see wildlife early in the morning. It was me, the German girl, and two other German guys (so many Germans in Costa Rica!) and the guide who was very fun. We saw a green heron, blue heron, male two-toed sloth, a juvenile cayman, an American crocodile, iguanas, and more. It was such a cool experience. That afternoon we also went for a walk through Tortuguero National Park. The National Park includes the water and the land, so we did the water in the morning with the canoe tour and the land in the afternoon with the hike. It was a really easy walk essentially along the beach, so it was really beautiful.  I learned that only 5% of the national park is accessible to tourists and the rest is just for researchers and the wildlife!

The next day, Monday, we went on a water ferry to a different national park to hike up to the top of this hill. When we got to the top of the hill we could see all of Tortuguero as well as the penninsula that we were on. Tortuguero is a very small area of land that is between the Caribbean Sea and a system of freshwater channels. The place that I was staying was right on the ocean but it took about 5 minutes to walk to the freshwater side. After the hike I went to the Sea Turtle Conservancy Visitor Center which was essentially an educational center to learn about the history of Tortuguero and also to learn about sea turtles. Green turtles were taken from Tortuguero to be consumed and sold and it got so bad that the population of green turtles was plummeting in Tortuguero. Green turtle exportation was the main commercial activity of the area. Eventually, legislation and financial incentive came through to stop this and now the main income for the small economy comes from tourism. It was so interesting to learn about a project that actually is going well, as green turtle exploitation is now a thing of the past and they are a well-protected species there. 

On Tuesday, I had a very relaxed morning and then my German friend and I met to take the shuttle out of Tortuguero and to head to Puerto Viejo. We were both planning to come here as our next stop but I ended up coming a few days earlier than expected so I could travel with her and so that I could at least work for part of the week. We used the same company, Exploradores Outdoors, and the shuttle went just fine. I got dropped off at my new place and it is very fun! There is a guest house with a kitchen, 5 different bedrooms, 2 shared bathrooms, outdoor showers, and some communal spaces. It is definitely nothing fancy but it is going to be really good for the next two weeks! I can actually hear the ocean from my room which is crazy to me. 

I spent this morning working and getting things done on my computer that needed to be done. Then I went and walked around the town and did some exploring along with some grocery shopping. I then spent my afternoon finishing Little Women and that was very intense because I had no idea what happened in that story at all. Tomorrow I am planning to go swimming in the ocean, I can access the water by a 3-minute walk from the place that I am staying! And Friday I am going to explore with my German friend! Tortuguero was so fun and definitely worth the visit, but I am glad to be at my next place for a bit of an extended stay. I am also glad to spend some time with this cute cat!