Second day in Tortuguero

Another early morning...but if you wanna see the wildlife it is a sacrifice you need to make.

the canal and some of the larger tour boats

It rained on and off all night and at 6 in the morning it looked like it will rain again...we were not even on the boat before the rain started again...first as a drizzle that halfway through the tour developed into a full tropical downpour.

There were other guides that provide tours for a larger group and use boats that provide shelter from the rain, but having a private tour has many advantages, even if we were getting wet.

Rafa turned out to be an amazing guide, despite the weather he was full of energy, patients and a fountain of information. He told us about the different palm trees, the different fruit bearing trees and the rest of the vegetation. He knew every bird we encountered and everything about it.

It was not long before we noticed the biggest difference between our tour and the bigger boats filled with 10+ people. Rafa, kept his boat closer to the shore or closer to the vegetation that was growing on the water, and because it was just us we knew better then to make to much noise especially after he pointed out a bird, so we got pretty close to a lot of them and with no one in the way got some nice shots.

Can you see me?

He knew from a previous conversation we had that I really wanted to see a Cayman and he was on a mission to find and show me one....The first one he spotter was very well camouflaged and I had a hard time noticing it...I really thought he will lose his patients any moment and I decided to say that I see it...well that only got him laughing....he knew I was lying, because apparently I was not even looking in the right direction, so he patiently guided me until I finally saw it...he was beautiful, like a baby crocodile.
The second one Rafa spotted was more in the open and he pulled the boat really close to it. We were so close that if I would have put my arm out I could have touched it. DO NOT TRY IT...the Cayman was on the hunt and he could easily bite my hand off faster then I could have pulled it back into the boat, but there is something so magical in being this close to a wild animal.

The only downside to the rain was that I had to put my camera away and the small waterproof one had a hard time focusing because of the dense rain...so I gave up.



Rafa did warn us that it will rain when we left the village, but we decided that a little water wont do us harm and his wooden boat gave us some reassurance, (my decision may have been different if he would have used a metal one). Even when the rain really started to come down hard I did not regret my decision, the sky got dark and the canal got an eerie feel to it, but it was still full of movement and life (if you knew where to look)

I promised myself that when I return to Tortuguero I will bring the appropriate protection for my camera...and better rain gear for us.

just an hour earlier this alee was under a foot of water

When we returned to the village we noticed that the alley leading from the main road to our room was flooded in a foot of water...I looked at my husband and we both had this "here we go" look as we stepped into the water.We knew that the ally was a sandy road and it was very clean both the night before and in the morning so we did not have to worry about where we step even if the water was not clear. By the time we reached our room we were so giddy, we could not stop laughing and talking about how we have not played in puddles since we were maybe 10 years old.

After changing into dry cloths we decided to have breakfast...so we headed back to the main road to a restaurant called Sunrise Fast Food Place...the menu was all in Spanish and the waitress did not speck English other then a few basic words, but when you have a positive attitude you will find a way to communicate. With some basic English and Spanish words...and some body language...we "decoded" the menu and ordered. While some of the items on the menu were not that hard to order the payment part was a bit harder since large numbers are harder for me to understand, the receipt was in colones and we wanted to pay in american dollars so I asked the waitress for her calculator I asked for US dollars and showed her the calculator..she wrote something down, I looked deleted and wrote down how much I want to pay (added the tip to her amount).Food was good and fresh and for the next day and a half we returned for every meal and the waitress always came with her calculator when we paid.



Keep in mind that in most places in Costa Rica a 10% tip is added automatically to your bill, however just like at home if I really enjoyed my meal and the service I tip more then 10%, and this waitress really made our meals special and her translations where very appreciated.







We had the rest of the day to explore and we were hoping to climb the hill...unfortunately the weather had other plans and it rained a few times that day...after all it was the rainy season and we were in a rain forest....we settled on walking the beach and relaxing.

we had a new friend following us 

until he got bored and decided to nap a bit

The beach with it's signature black volcanic sand must be beautiful during the sunny days, unfortunately because of all the rain and storms the sea was very rough. There were some huge pieces of driftwood that the waives were moving back and forth with no effort at all performing a captivating dance.

After revisiting the various souvenir stores and buying same snacks from the general store we returned to our room and decided to relax on the hammocks....and time just flew by.




Later we had an early dinner and retired to our room wishing we could spend more time in this secluded place and promising to return one day and share it with our children.






Happy travels