Boat trip in Tortugero National Park, Tortugero Village and Jaguar Trail

Today we set off early in the morning by boat to Tortugero National Park.

Unfortunately, the chances of seeing a few animals are better before breakfast. So it was time to get up early again.

On the way we met a few birds, but unfortunately we couldn't remember all of their names...

We memorized the name of the crab buzzard until we could look up the German translation at the hotel.

Another special bird that is rarely seen is the kingfisher. Our guide spotted one of the small specimens near the shore.

In addition to numerous birds, there are three species of monkeys in Tortugero National Park (of the four species that live in Costa Rica).

We saw all three species on this boat tour.

There were also a few iguanas sitting up in the trees and barely moving.

After the trip we went to breakfast to refresh ourselves before the next item on the program began.

We walked with a guide through the village of Tortugero, which is right next to the entrance to the national park.

After a few stops with short explanations, we had the opportunity to explore the village or a hiking trail in the national park on our own.

We started on the “Jaguar Trail”, which runs through the rainforest.

But we didn't see a jaguar. This was not to be expected with these nocturnal animals.

In fact, 12 jaguars permanently reside in the area. When the sea turtles come to lay their eggs, there are a few more because they probably like to eat the turtles.

During the rest of the year, dog owners have to watch out for their four-legged friends, especially in the evening, as they otherwise roam freely around town...

The hiking trail was well developed and led through the rainforest and with detours to the sea.

On the way we saw numerous lizards that were initially sunning themselves on the path, but then quickly disappeared as we got closer.

We also discovered howler monkeys in some trees, but they lay motionless on the branches most of the time.

We saw another falcon close to the path, which wasn't bothered by the hikers who were taking photos of it.

We walked through the village back to the hotel, from where our second boat tour started in the afternoon.

A sloth was curled up in a tree on the bank - but apart from a ball of fur there wasn't much to see.

On this boat tour we saw some river turtles sunning themselves on the shore.

A few caimans lay just as motionless on the bank and let us photograph them.

We also saw a lot of bird life and also a few new specimens, such as several herons.

The great blue heron had just fled from the colder weather in its homeland like us, but unlike us it will probably stay here a little longer.