‘Tortuguero‘ What an appropriate name, it literally means ‘Turtle Land’ in Spanish.
This isolated town was a pleasant surprise. The only way to get here is by boat (by river or by ocean). There are no roads or cars in this town, which was a bonus. All ‘roads’ in the town are boardwalks, you can only walk or bike, some ground roads in the town centre.
Getting Here
This was one of the more complicated destinations to reach. We went from San Jose, taking the ‘Chicken Bus’ to La Pavona. (San Jose – Cariari – La Pavona.). The entire journey took about six hours. The road is shouldered with a thick Forrest. Breathtakingly beautiful scenery along the way. I remember listening to some Latin American tunes (Shakira) and gazing out the window. There was this Blue Monarch, flying along the bus, almost as if flaunting its beautiful wings. Such serenity!
From La Pavona., you will need to take a 40 minute boat ride, that is the route by river. You can also catch a boat (by ocean) just few miles from San Jose – Caño Blanco pier, this route, we heard, is just as or more scenic than the river route we took.
Boat ride to the Turtle Land
This ride was so awesome and an exciting one. All passengers go in one boat and your luggage in another. It was confusing for a non Spanish speakers like us. But we and our backpacks arrived safely.
The boat takes you on San Juan river, Parque Nacional Tortuguero for about 40 minutes. You can see iguanas sun bathing on top of the bushes on the river bank, birds singing, flying in and out of the waters. Just a scene out of a jungle book.
Tortuguero is such a remote place where light pollution is minimal. If you love star gazing this is your place. My idea of a heaven is where I don’t hear constant car honking, heavy machinery and where I can see monkeys and sloths all day long. So ya, I was in my own personal heaven.
Our ride…
Did I mention sloths? I did! But I got to tell you little more. My very first sloth sighting was a baby sloth and a mama sloth. Talk about in luck! Were they ever slow? I watched them, photographed them until my neck ached from staring up the tree. Just too cute to look away. And monkeys! They are funny little creatures, aren;t they? Didn’t like my constant photo snapping of them I think, one took him upon himself to show his displeasure by taking a pee few centimetres away from where I was standing.
You can watch sea turtles at night, there are tours, where the a local take people in groups. We are from Sri Lanka and we have seen them in the wild, so didn’t do the tour, also we were on a budget. The coastal area of Tortuguero is a Turtle nesting ground. Tortuguero National Park, you can take guided tours, we heard they were good.
Best time to visit
December to February is leatherback sea turtle nesting season, June through October is green sea turtle season; February, April, and November are the driest months and best for other outdoor activities.
History
This used to be a lumber town, cutting down the trees was their bread and butter. These are the machinery that used to process the lumber. In 1980s Costa Rican Gov banned all lumber harvesting, across the country. Today their bread & butter is the lush forest itself. What a concept!
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