Tortuguero - Caribbean

On this day, we got on the bus towards Tortuguero National Park around nine o'clock in the morning. Tortuguero National Park is located in the village of Tortuguero, where about 700 people live. Tortuguero is also located on the Caribbean coast, in the Limón province. It is worth mentioning that the village is situated on the narrow strip of land between the Caribbean beach and the wide jungle river. Therefore, Tortuguero can only be reached by water or by air. After three transfers by bus, we boarded a small boat that would take us to Tortuguero. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily that day, so we had little chance of seeing any animals during our crossing. It rained heavily the next day as well, so we didn't have to pay anything for the national park - how lucky. Equipped with rubber boots, we made our way to the national park, where about half of the reptile and bird species recorded in Costa Rica are native. On that day, we saw howler monkeys, gamboas, bare-throated tiger herons, a variety of butterflies - the most impressive of which was definitely the large sky butterfly - birds, and iguanas. Unfortunately, we didn't see any snakes, caimans, crocodiles, or turtles. It is worth mentioning that from July to September, the beach in Tortuguero is an important nesting place for the endangered green sea turtle. The event of the nightly nesting can only be done in the presence of an official guide to protect the turtles. Of course, this tour is not cheap at all. Photography is strictly prohibited as it can disturb the animals and cause them to stop nesting. For this reason, entering the entire 36km long beach at night is also prohibited and monitored by rangers. We decided against this nightly tour because we couldn't understand how the beach has to be closed at night on one side, but it is okay for tourists to hike there with a guide on the other side. We couldn't imagine that the turtles would be less disturbed in that case. They are 'only' observed with red light, but they certainly feel all the people on site. Well, it wasn't worth it to us. Tortuguero has unfortunately lost some of its originality due to occasional mass tourism, the increasing number of speed boats, and the overpriced lodges. This is our opinion and also what the locals say. Nevertheless, it was a short and beautiful stay that we wouldn't want to miss.
Pura Vida!

PS: This phrase has been accompanying us since we arrived in Costa Rica and means 'pure life'. It is mainly used as a farewell. This country really couldn't be described any better.