This secluded village located on an island surrounded on one side by a series of canals and on the other by the Caribbean Sea can only be accessed by boat or small propeller planes. This seclusion kept urban development away and still offers a pristine environment to anyone that is adventurous enough to visit.
There is a project in place to bring this wonderful place to the attention of more tourists, however the information was still limited and the accommodation photos where amateur at best and did not provide enough visual to do them justice.
Just like professionally photographed hotel rooms in the glossy magazines can provide a false positive, amateur shots with bad angles and poor lighting can provide a false negative impression, and with a place not as popular at Puntarenas it was difficult to find enough reviews to help my decision making.
I knew from the research I did that Tortuguero was small and very basic in what it offered. There are lodges that offer more amenities, but are not located in the village, and accommodation in the village are not only more affordable, but also in the heart of the place....there are hostels as well, but we are not that adventures, and we like our privacy.
Using the village website I decided that it may just be easier to contact one of the local guides and request his assistance and services. The main reason for our visit was after all to see the turtles which you could only do if you hired a guide.
I decided to contact Rafael, mainly because he advertised that he can assist with transfers from San Jose (he arranged our transfer with Jungle Tom Safari).
What I requested as accommodation was very simple: a clean room with private bathroom and friendly staff. a local authentic feel to the room was a bonus. I knew it will not be comparable with what we enjoyed in San Jose...but maybe that is exactly why I picked Hotel Presidente in San Jose.
Arriving in Tortuguero my heart was in my throat looking for a reaction from my husband. I knew what to expect, but I was not sure how well did I manage to explain him that this place was "basic". I knew the village was small and that there are no cars at all, people here used the oldest form of transportation....their feet...and sometimes a bicycle...but was that enough to paint an image of this village?
We were met at the docks by the owner of the Taylor's Place, accommodation that Rafael suggested. The older lady did not speak English so our basic Spanish came in handy. I was very greatful that she decided to use simple basic words and did not rush the conversation which allowed us to understand most of what she said and fallow her. She told us to avoid all the other tourists she will use the back-road, my heart stopped when I saw the sand ally snaking between houses and gardens/yards with chickens, dogs, and cats walking freely...what will my husband say?...am I dead?...I said this village was secluded and "basic" but what did he envision as basic since we lived in Canada?...2 minutes later we were in our room....alone...
I still believe my husband could read the panic I was feeling as he turned around and said..." You were right...this place is "basic"....but nice"...and he was right it was more then nice...it was wonderful. Here, people and nature seemed to live in harmony with each other and there was a lot invested in conservation and Eco-friendliness.
Our room was a small clean room with a double bed and a twin one and a private bathroom with a walk-in shower....and we had A/C...There was no TV or radio in the room, but it would be a crime in this place to waste your vacation looking at one. One of the things that we quickly discovered inspecting our new room was that the shower and toilet were running on rain water....just another little reminder that we were in a country that really embraces eco-friendliness.
Taylor's Place has a nicely groomed garden with tropical plants and coconut trees, it also has a nice gazebo with 4 hammocks, a great place to relax, read a book or just look at the birds in the tree.
We had a turtle tour planned, but that was not until 8 p.m. so we decided to go exploring.
The main road is the only road that is paved (cement) and most of the restaurants, souvenir shops, and the general store are found along it. The marina is also along this road found on the canal side.
Now, that I was no longer afraid of what my husband may say about my decision, I started taking in details that I did not notice on our 2 minute walk to our room. The property around each house was well groomed and said a lot about the hard working people owning them. The dogs walking around were very used to strangers walking around and as long as you did not step on their tail they were no bother to you (they do keep the wild animals away...or so I was told). I also noticed a few smaller roosters, very colourful ...I was so happy to see them walk around some of the yards as one of my uncles used to have some when I was growing up.
Just like anywhere else in the Central America it gets dark pretty early...a thing that we where not yet used to...by 8 pm it was completely dark and felt more like midnight...we were ready for the Turtle tour
Tortuguero is famous for the turtles laying eggs on it's beach...as a matter of fact the towns name translates to Turtle hunters....while hunting turtles for their eggs and meat is now part of the history of the place the turtles are still a very important part of this town.
There are a few conservation efforts in different stages of development that we learned about.
While the demand to see the turtles laying eggs and the baby turtles making their first trip to the sea is increasing yearly, conservationists observed that due to large numbers of people the turtles were getting scared and returning to the sea without laying their eggs. The Turtle Scout program is dedicating all their efforts and funds to minimize the negative human impact. A trail was cut through the jungle parallel to the beach with numerous connections to it every 100 meters. During the time the turtles lay eggs the beach is closed and closely monitored from dusk to dawn....the only way to gain access is by purchasing one of the 2 nightly tours with a registered guide.
One of the things that was going through my mind following our guide through the night was "competition"....I figured with a small village and numerous guides competition must be huge...I could not have been further from the truth. While there are a great number of guides, there is an even greater number of tourists that request their services. I was very pleased to see how the guides were working together not against each other. We were initially in a group of majority Spanish speakers and once we arrived at a resting spot on the trail where other groups where waiting our guide approached us and told us that he spoke with a different guide and they exchanged some tourists...this allowed him to have an all Spanish group and we were to join an English group.
We remained at the resting spot, a nice big covered area with many benches, for some time as designated Guides were combing the beach for turtle sightings. Waiting in the dark I noticed small lights flickering from the jungle...it took me a bit to realize that we were surrounded by fireflies....Fireflies had been a part of my childhood memories and I have not seen one since leaving Europe...
After some time we were taken to the beach where a giant green turtle was returning to the sea. We were allowed to walk behind it and observe it...apparently she came to the beach to lay her eggs but the spot she chose was not suitable as after digging a bit she reached some roots...so she returned to the sea. We learned that this is common practice and the turtle will return to a different spot on the beach.
Once the turtle was in the water we returned to the resting spot in the jungle, we were halfway through our tour. Because we were watching wild animals we knew very well that there were no guaranties to actually see a turtle laying eggs...but we saw a Green Turtle and we were happy. My thoughts were interrupted by the movements of the guides who gettered in a spot a few meters up the trail from the resting spots and were pointing their flash-lights into the deep jungle.
I later learned that there are jaguars in the area, but they are attracted by the turtles....the great number of humans is not appealing to them, but you should not venture out there by yourself. The jaguars feed on the turtles, they wait until the turtle is laying the eggs and then they attack.
When a turtle starts laying eggs it completely "relaxes" and it will not move until all her eggs are laid. This is when the tourists are aloud to enter the beach...it is also the time that if there are no humans around a jaguar may strike...so maybe we were doing something good as long as we were listening to the very strict rules set and enforced by the National Park.
It was almost 10 p.m. when the guide rounded us all up...I thought it was time to go, when he told us that we were going back to the beach to see a turtle laying eggs. I could not have been more happy as this experience was exactly why I came to Tortuguero.
Following the guides red flashlight and trying not to fall behind we were headed back to the beach to a spot not far from where the first turtle tried to dig her nest. We gettered around the Green Turtle and watched her lay her golf ball size eggs wondering how may will make it to the sea...knowing that in this place the human interference was playing a positive role in ensuring that a great number of babies make it.
When the eggs are laid and covered the nest will be marked and when it is time for the babies to hatch there will be other tourists welcoming them into the world. Those tourists will keep the birds and other predators away just like we were keeping the Jaguars away from this turtle increasing the chances for this species survival.
After some "valuable time" spent with the mama turtle we made our way back to the village. We were not even 2 minutes from our room when the rain that threatened us for the past 10 minutes started poring, by the time we got to our room we were drenched. I could not help but wonder if contacting a guide prior to our arrival and asking for assistance may have been what brought us back to the room just as the rain started?...If asked I would have picked the later tour because to me 8pm in the summer is to early for a night tour... Lucky?
We went to sleep early and woke up in the middle of the night because of the noises the rain was making...it was so loud that I thought there must be a great storm outside, but when I opened the door I realized it was not that bad. Most of the noise was caused by the trees and the wind, which was not even that powerful...back to sleep.
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.
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.
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)
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.
