August 11th until 15th, 2011: Tortuguero National Park

So finally I have the time to write a few lines as I forgot the car keys in Corcovado National Park and now we have to wait for the afternoon boat to bring them. I'll just try not to be too upset and stick to the "pura vida" feeling I got a glimpse of here in Costa Rica. :)

So the last couple of days in Tortuguero National Park were simply amazing. It all started off with a crazy taxi ride directly from San José airport to La Pavona, the little harbour where the river boats to Tortuguero take off from. Everybody had told me that if I'd arrive around noon I'd never make it up to the carribean coast on the same day since I had to catch the last boat at 4pm, but the taxi driver was quite confident he'd make it and we agreed on a really good fee, so that was that. I was, however, quite nervous about everything due to my lack of experience with Costa Rican means of transportation. We shared a local snack (yucca frita con carne and patatos fritas con queso) halfway through and then continued the race down to La Pavona. At some point he told me that he had never driven further than "that road" and well...it didn't exactly add to a more "tranquil" state of consciousness. To cut a long story short: we made it right on time and I only had a couple of minutes to buy the ticket before the boat took off. Following that were 90 minutes of pure magic as it was an amazing ride through the jungle. The forest was a little hazy and there were animals everywhere. Words really can't describe these breath-taking moments.

When we arrived in Tortuguero it was almost dark and I was happy to receive news from Barbara, a german biologist I had contacted before I went to COsta Rica about available cabinas in an "ok" place. Besides 10$ a night weren't that bad. Let me put it this way: it had four walls, a roof, a bed and a bathroom. Good for 2 nights. After that I had to look for a different one since it was fully booked. Right after I went for a "turtle walk" with Barbara. Didn't know what to expect but right after we came to the beach there was this huge sea turtle lying down in a hole she had dug before in some kind of a trance state to lay her 200+ eggs. No one is allowed to take pictures as the research team wants them to be as undisturbed as possible. So after approx. 30 mins of laying her eggs she would wake up, cover them with sand and head back to the sea. I was told that at the time they are in that trance they are most vulnerable to predators, especially jaguars. Well, jaguars are one reason I came to Costa Rica for but of course I wouldn't want to see one eating a turtle. :(

The next morning I went to have breakfast at a local bakery and they served delicious fruit salad with banana bread and great Costa Rican coffee. I had an interesting conversation with a hungarian couple, Kata and Peter, who seem to be into wildlife as much as I am so we decided to take a jungle walk together on that same day. And oít was great, I can tell you that. It's just amazing to be accompanied by someone who walks as slow as you are and who is as interested in insects, reptiles, mammals and plants. We spent 7 hours in the jungle and I took the first lot of cool pictures. The next morning I went on a 3,5h canoe trip with Barbara which was one of the really rewarding experiences cause we just saw so much, you wouldn't believe. Snakes, monkeys, lizards, birds, spiders and caymans all over the place, Just "wow!". The rest of the day was just relaxing at the beach with Kata, Peter and Jordi, a guy from Spain I had met on the boat ride to Tortuguero and who also stayed at the new place I moved to that day, the Cabinas Balcon del Mar.

On the last day we went into the jungle again but this time it we took it really slow as the heat and humidity simply takes you out after a while. Crazy. Later in the afternoon I met a few girls from San José and took them to the jungle to find the spider monkeys we had spotted before but unfortunately they had disappeared. So much for trying to be the wanna-be guide, but hey, shit happens. :) Some more local food (rice, beans and chicken) in the evening and we called it a night. Which was horrible though. Full moon and no sleep at all (blood on the sheets though...just kidding). The worst preparation for a day of driving cause after we (Kata, Peter and myself) took the boat back to La Pavona and the bus to San José we got ourselves a rental car to drive down to Corcovado national park. Horrible ride down to our overnight stay in Dominical since all the ramps onto the highway were closed which is why it took us 7 hours instead of 3, plus driving after dark through heavy tropical rains. The stay at the surfer backpackers place was good though. Quite relaxed and cheap. And good to relax for the upcoming days in Corcovado.

So that's it for Tortuguero, cheers,

Stefan

Pictures can be found here.