Original date of travel: March 7 and 8. Documented writing on March 29.
I chose to schedule our excursion to Tortuguero on the weekend of my birthday. We left on my birthday (Friday) and returned Saturday evening. For background information: Tortuguero is a small town with a sizeable national refuge in the northeast part of Costa Rica. Cars are banned from the place and the only way to actually get the oceanside town is by riverboat. One of the attractions of Tortuguero is the sea turtle reserve. The beach is the “one of the largest nesting areas for green sea turtles in the Western hemisphere.” I imagine during the nesting season, Tortuguero is much busier but we visited off peak.
This was one of my favorite excursions because of the peacefulness of the place. While there were other tourists there, they were few enough that the locals recognized us after only a day. With the town being small, all the locals know each other pretty well. We also received a lot of value for our money on accommodations, food, clothing, and souvenirs.
If swimming in the ocean isn’t key to a person’s beach experience and the sea turtles aren’t the draw, I would highly recommend visiting Tortuguero in Costa Rica’s dry season as a way to escape the noise of the city and enjoy tranquil beaches right outside a your room. Life truly felt slower and for me at least, Tortuguero embodies the true spirit of “Pura Vida”. It really added a perfect type of special feeling to my personal celebration of another year of maturation.
First, we drove almost 4 hours through Clark's favorite "jungle-like" forests of Braulio Carrillo into the Caribbean countryside.
We could not see what crop this was, but the uniformity of the planting is interesting.
Rosabel might have a gift for spotting wildlife. She saw this toucan from the moving car. We pulled over to get a closer look and then I zoomed in the image.
Banana fields. See that flash of blue?
Those are bags over the bananas but why? Maybe to keep the birds or bugs out? The bottoms of the bags are open.
This is where we waited for our boat near the town of La Pavona. The tables of the restaurant were beautifully carved.
The resident dogs typical of most restaurants here in Costa Rica. Each one seems to either have dogs or cats nearby.
On the boat.
We saw a bit of wildlife as we travelled on the river. Several types of water birds, iguanas, jesus lizards, and even caiman!
This was a little town with a "boat stop". We dropped off a lady with her little girl and there was a gentleman who looked the grandfather of the baby (judging by how he greeted them) waiting on the dock.
Arriving to Tortuguero
The narrow "roads" are more like wide paths, mostly paved, and well maintained even if they aren't paved.
There was interesting art everywhere we looked. This seems typical of many Costa Rican neighborhoods.
Our walk to the motel.
The beach. We were strongly encouraged to NOT swim here due to the strong currents, but we did see some people in the water. Clark waded in just to say he'd stepped in the Caribbean Sea here.
If you zoom in, maybe you can see how the clear the water is. It was the clearest we water we had seen thus far. The water was crystal clear.
Exploring the neighborhood around the town center.
On the river side, near the center of town, we found this cute park and that is a creative trash bin.
Art to show where I am
One of the unique souvenir shops we found in Tortuguero with some beautiful handmade items. We regret not buying one of the carved coconuts because we didn't see any more quite like these anywhere else.
Sign made with buttons outside an art gallery.
More creative trash receptacles:
This is a wire sea turtle used for trash.
Creative way to save a tree from falling over. The trunk has grown right onto the post.
I will call this the "Indian headdress" tree.
Sculpture art
Looking from the front of our accommodation to the sea. That is the beach behind those trees. It was very close.
A dock on the river side.
Beautiful murals
La escuela para los ninos en las dias y la gente en los noches.
The school for children during the days and adults during the nights.
Looking from the pool deck of the motel. That horizon is over the ocean.
Fun in the pool despite the small size. The warm weather in Tortuguero demanded a swim. Of course, if we were right on the beach, the breeze is refreshing and kept us cool. The line of trees blocked the lovely breeze, but the trees are necessary to protect the structures.
Hand carved wood sculptures. The sloth was moved to town the next day (Saturday). It was amusing to watch some strong Tico men and one woman muscle this very heavy piece of wood onto a tiny cart and roll it through the narrow path to the town center.
Resident cat of our motel, "Hotel El Icaco".
Another great hand painted sign! Note the colors.
Night Tour:
We chose to do a night tour while in Tortuguero based on recommendations. We were hoping to see sloths.
Jesus (Hay-soos) lizards
There is a porcupine there.
The sloth is hanging here right in the light.
In town after dark.
Our guide picked this fruit off a tree in the church garden. This is achiote (ah-chee-oh-tay). In the USA, we would call it "annatto". This is the coloring we use to make yellow cheddar. The guide explained how women would use the seeds to color their lips beside adding color to food. It is flavorless. Now, achiote is used in the Costa Rican dish "Arroz con Pollo o Camarones".
The seeds are where the color comes from. Rubbing them between our fingers left the color behind.
Hunting and gathering:
Lunch with Nicaraguan influence. There seemed to be a settlement of Nicaraguans in Tortuguero.
Typical Tico
Casado con pescado. The dark looking "sauce" in the bowl is frijolitas negra. My favorite!
Dinner: Starting with our new friend...
We must have ceviche if we are near the ocean.
Rosabel playing it safe with spaghetti.
BBQ meat of some kind for Craig. They had a wood fired brick oven at this restaurant.
Clark's whole red snapper.
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