The more I travel, the more I realize how connected this planet has become and continues to become. Tortuguero is a fairly isolated place on the Carribean coast of Costa Rica. There are no roads, no cars, no motor bikes and only 2 quad bikes which are used to lug trash around. You get here by single or twin engined light aircraft or via a river boat from the closest pier about an hour away.
However while sitting in a pizza joint set amongst the palm trees enjoying a superb calzone with original mozzarella cheese made by a dude who clearly has an understanding of Italian food, I get to listen to some great reggae from 'Lucky Dube'. For those of you who may not know, he was a big South African reggae star in the 90's and 00's who was tragically murdered in 2007. How on watch his music ended up in an isolated spot in Costa Rica is beyond me but it was great to chill out to his specific brand of Rasta lyrics! They go extremely well with pizza and beer....
La Fortuna was a let down as it is a town that has completely given itself over to the concept of tours. You can't move an inch without coming across a tour expert who can get you onto a volcano, into a volcano, over a volcano, rafting blindfolded upside down through a volcano and so on. It's a pity as the scenery and general area is superb and quite easy to get to without being pushed onto an overpriced, poorly managed tour. Having said that, if you choose carefully you can find something interesting and worthwhile doing. I did the extremely steep hike to Cerro Chato volcano which in the dry season I would assume is superb. However in the rainy season it becomes a little challenging but great fun nevertheless.
After the round trip of about 5 hours you get to chill in the hot springs river with the locals in a series of rock pools that feel like natural jacuzzis, so cool!
The boat trip into Tortuguera gives a glimpse of the national park and the amazing vegetation that is being preserved and protected. Costa Rica really is trying to protect it's natural environment, Panama should take notes. The town here is tiny with a single paved walkway running the length of town, the High Street if you will.
The harbor is just a sandy bay at the edge of the river crowded with river boats jostling for position so they can disgorge their human cargo and make another run. It is peak season here due to the local and European holidays along with the fact that green turtle nesting season has started. Town is heaving with people passing through hoping to see turtles nesting on one of the nightly tours. I did a tour last night and although there were 5 green turtles on the beach over the course of the evening none decided to dig a nest and lay any eggs. We did however get to see 2 of these amazing creatures slowly make their way back into the sea after they decided that it was not the right time to lay eggs. These turtles weigh about 100-120kg and are huge! An amazing site to see. Walking back late last night our guide found a lovely little pit viper on a stick at the side of the trail, very cool.
Leaf cutter ants are everywhere in the jungle. You walk along being distracted by toucans, Hawks, vultures, humming birds and green macaws, sucked dry by an armada of blood-thirsty mosquitos and suddenly you see tiny triangular pieces of leaves moving along the forest floor. Welcome to the world of the leaf cutters. They use the pieces of leaves as food in a giant colony underground where the fermenting leaves provide warmth and food. These little guys go out in their thousands and do nothing but carry neatly cut pieces of leaves back to the nest all day long, guarded by their soldier ants. They are easy to spot, just look for a long line of moving leaves and you have found them. The longest line I found must have about 30 meters or so, not sure how many ants that translates into but probably too many to count. Man, nature is a fascinating subject.
Now if I can just find a sloth that will pose for a photo....
Hasta Luego
Andrew
However while sitting in a pizza joint set amongst the palm trees enjoying a superb calzone with original mozzarella cheese made by a dude who clearly has an understanding of Italian food, I get to listen to some great reggae from 'Lucky Dube'. For those of you who may not know, he was a big South African reggae star in the 90's and 00's who was tragically murdered in 2007. How on watch his music ended up in an isolated spot in Costa Rica is beyond me but it was great to chill out to his specific brand of Rasta lyrics! They go extremely well with pizza and beer....
La Fortuna was a let down as it is a town that has completely given itself over to the concept of tours. You can't move an inch without coming across a tour expert who can get you onto a volcano, into a volcano, over a volcano, rafting blindfolded upside down through a volcano and so on. It's a pity as the scenery and general area is superb and quite easy to get to without being pushed onto an overpriced, poorly managed tour. Having said that, if you choose carefully you can find something interesting and worthwhile doing. I did the extremely steep hike to Cerro Chato volcano which in the dry season I would assume is superb. However in the rainy season it becomes a little challenging but great fun nevertheless.
The boat trip into Tortuguera gives a glimpse of the national park and the amazing vegetation that is being preserved and protected. Costa Rica really is trying to protect it's natural environment, Panama should take notes. The town here is tiny with a single paved walkway running the length of town, the High Street if you will.
The harbor is just a sandy bay at the edge of the river crowded with river boats jostling for position so they can disgorge their human cargo and make another run. It is peak season here due to the local and European holidays along with the fact that green turtle nesting season has started. Town is heaving with people passing through hoping to see turtles nesting on one of the nightly tours. I did a tour last night and although there were 5 green turtles on the beach over the course of the evening none decided to dig a nest and lay any eggs. We did however get to see 2 of these amazing creatures slowly make their way back into the sea after they decided that it was not the right time to lay eggs. These turtles weigh about 100-120kg and are huge! An amazing site to see. Walking back late last night our guide found a lovely little pit viper on a stick at the side of the trail, very cool.
Leaf cutter ants are everywhere in the jungle. You walk along being distracted by toucans, Hawks, vultures, humming birds and green macaws, sucked dry by an armada of blood-thirsty mosquitos and suddenly you see tiny triangular pieces of leaves moving along the forest floor. Welcome to the world of the leaf cutters. They use the pieces of leaves as food in a giant colony underground where the fermenting leaves provide warmth and food. These little guys go out in their thousands and do nothing but carry neatly cut pieces of leaves back to the nest all day long, guarded by their soldier ants. They are easy to spot, just look for a long line of moving leaves and you have found them. The longest line I found must have about 30 meters or so, not sure how many ants that translates into but probably too many to count. Man, nature is a fascinating subject.
Now if I can just find a sloth that will pose for a photo....
Hasta Luego
Andrew
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