BLOG 5: Tortuguero National Park / Costa Rica

Now we head from San José northeast through Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua, our destination is the Tortuguero National Park.

The shuttle bus picks us up at 6:30 AM, just after midnight …, from the hotel. The journey takes more than 4 hours, interrupted only by a breakfast break. After that, we transfer to a boat that takes us through the river system of the Rio Tortuguero to the Mawamba Lodge.

Our stay there is very pleasant; a beautiful facility, spacious “suite”, friendly staff, and decent food.

The first excursion – again by boat, as it's the only way to reach the lodge – takes us to the nearby town of Tortuguero. It doesn’t really offer anything special and is mainly geared towards the tourist visitors from the various lodges near the National Park.

The town of Tortuguero has only existed since about 1930, when a Colombian family settled in the area. By around 1940, the tropical rainforest was being logged in Tortuguero. River arms were turned into channels to facilitate the easier transport of timber. Today, there is very little primary forest left in the area, with most of the vegetation consisting of secondary forest.

Since the establishment of the national park in 1975, the area has been protected, and during this time, the secondary forest has developed into a real “jungle”. The main source of income for Tortuguero’s residents today is the growing tourism. In the town, some heavily rusted remnants of machinery stand as a kind of reminder of the logging days.

We walk back along the Caribbean beach to our lodge, the only facility in the area that includes shorelines both at the sea and along the parallel-running Rio Tortuguero. Swimming is not allowed on either side – not in the river due to crocodiles and not at sea due to very strong currents.

We manage to make the return journey while it is sunny with a partly cloudy sky. Shortly after our arrival, a heavy downpour occurs, which is replaced by sunshine after nearly an hour. A typical weather situation here at the start of the “dry season”.

The main highlight of our stay is the afternoon boat ride into the core area of the national park. Of course, we do not see the often-advertised large animals like jaguars. We can more perceive than see or photograph the various species of monkeys and sloths in the high tree regions, but the boat ride through the tropical forest's water labyrinth has its own vibe, and we do see quite a number of birds and reptiles.

For the evening, we have signed up for the “Dinner Cruise” on the restaurant boat “Katonga” – a lovely evening in a special atmosphere with good food and Malbec from Argentina.

The next morning, we go back by boat to the “transfer point,” where we climb back into the shuttle bus and set off for our next destination.