tomandbuntytrails

Next Stop Tortuguero!

After Monteverde we returned our hire car and spent a few days in San Jose with our new friends – Paula, Juanjo and Tio, their adorable Boston Terrier. We had a really good time with them – wine (French Paradox wine shop, San Jose!), homemade sourdough (Paula’s an expert), city tour (P&J showed us the National Theatre & Pre-Columbian Gold Museum), amazing food (Tin Jo Restaurante Asiatico).

Lured by the promise of Tortuguero being the “Amazon of Costa Rica”  and a well known Turtle nesting area, we headed for Tortuguero, on the Caribbean Coast. Exciting! We got two buses (San Jose – Cariari – La Pavona) then a boat (since Tortuguero is totally inaccessible by car). The boat took us on a spectacular journey through the waterways and rivers, surrounded by dense jungle. We saw cayman, terrapins, a flock of pelicans and huge iguanas several times on the sandbanks, cormorants, egret and toucans! The boat stopped a few times to drop off supplies at several houses – I assume to people who didn’t have the luxury of their own boat, as otherwise they’d be totally cut off.

On arrival at Tortuguero town, the owner of the All Rankin Eco Lodge, Willis, greeted us! We then jumped in his boat and we powered further up the river – away from it all! 

The Eco Lodge is set in a large garden on the bank between the Caribbean Sea and the inland waterway, behind us is the little landing strip where around 4 planes per day land. The atmosphere is really Caribbean – chilled, relaxed and tranquilo! The area is famous for its Great Green Macaws and we were lucky enough to spot a flock of 20 of them fly past over the river, within 20 minutes of arriving. Minutes later, as I was relaxing in the hammock with a beer, Bunty called over as he’d spotted three macaws in the trees a few metres away from the restaurant! We have never seen truly wild macaws of any type before so it was a really special experience. We had a wander over the the beach to see the magnificent Caribbean Sea – it’s so dramatic here – rough ocean, miles of dark sand in either direction, moody skies, and the fact it is so remote really added to our emotions. We loved it. From All 

We had 6 nights booked at All Rankins Eco Lodge, and were glad we had decided to stay for a good amount of time here, another paradise spot – can Costa Rica get any better?!

One morning we went on a canoe tour of the reserve waterways, so were up at 5.30am, quick coffee at the restaurant, then Willis took us back to Tortuguero to meet our guide, Augusto. Half way there, Willis cut the engines –  he’d spotted dolphins, which had swum into the freshwater to hunt for fish. We spotted a pair, probably a mother and calf and they swam around near our boat for about 5 minutes! Willis said it’s not that common to see them there – again we are so overwhelmed and feel so lucky to experience all that Costa Rica has to offer! The canoe tour into the mangroves was spectacular, we got really close to a humungous iguana who, unfazed by our proximity, sat ignoring us as he waited for prey. We also spotted a cayman (again he didn’t even move as we floated past him) and to top it off a family of spider monkeys – another first for us! Augusto spotted three bats asleep guarding the entrance to the cavernous trunk, where the rest of the colony were asleep.

We’d also recommend hiring kayaks and going solo – as soon as you have crossed the main waterway, which has a bit of current, you’re on the quieter rivers and backwaters; here you can go at your own pace. Stop and absorb the sounds of the jungle whenever you wish! One reason we love kayaking is the fact you can just stop, watch and listen whenever you want! I soon saw a tree branch shaking and knew there would be monkeys there! We paddled closer and just sat and watched a large family of howlers just metres from us! Absolutely spectacular and quite emotional actually! Moments later we spotted a crocodile – he was a juvenile but still about 5 feet long, he was deadly still and waiting for prey! We were lucky enough to see a small family of spider monkeys too!

Tortuguero is a really special place, we loved that there was not a single car or even motorcycle. The people are super relaxed and friendly, the flora and fauna is diverse and spectacular, the beach is stunning and hauntingly beautiful. It’s great to see how eco-tourism is actually working to protect the natural world here and helping the local community too.