Woke up 5am after a bad night of sleep. It was too hot and humid for me. I needed breakfast before heading out, so I went to the bakery next door.
The tour with Victor and six other hotel guests started at 5:45am. The boat was a smaller electric one, with rows of seats of two. Besides canoes and kayaks, it was the smallest boat that I saw going on a tour that morning.
We stopped at the national park entrance to purchase tickets for everyone. I was the only one who was prepared and purchased their ticket ahead of time...we waited maybe 15 minutes. Other tour boats started arriving, there must have been at least 10 others. During the wait, I saw a howler monkey swinging around a tree in front of us. Such an abundance of wildlife here!
Victor started with some background of the waterways. We were at the confluence of four different routes, used for transport to the city, and logging. Initially we didn't see much wildlife except a toucan high in the trees. But as we went further from the main canal, we could spot a lot more.
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| Journeying along the quiet waters |
Being in the small canals was amazing, it felt very wild, something unspoiled and not touched by humans. Although, apparently two families still own property in the national park. They chose not to sell to the government when the area was declared a NP. One family maintains their own trail, which is supposed to be the best for frogs.
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| Unreal Amazon-esque canals |
Victor pointed out caimans (babies too), the Jesus Christ lizard, iguanas, kingfishers, Bare Throated Tiger Herons, aningas, turkey vultures, keel-billed toucans, spider and howler monkeys. Apparently, Tortuguero contains 46% of the country's biodiversity. Victor was really comfortable on the boat and waters, and he was passionate about the wildlife.
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| The lurking caiman |
After about three hours, we headed back to Casa Marbella, for the official breakfast there. Fruit and freshly cooked pancakes. I appreciate that it was fresh, but I'm not sure what happened with the timing -- others on the same tour as me were served 25 minutes earlier. So, some waiting involved. The river view while waiting is great though.
Since I had paid for the Tortuguero National Park entrance for the entire day, I wanted to walk some of the trails. However, was a little hesitant -- two separate instances of locals telling me to be careful since I'm solo. Victor the tour guide mentioned to not carry any valuables at all, only my cell phone for pictures, water, and repellant, and Rocio at Regina Hotel said to not go alone because the park is very close to Nicaragua and sometimes people come down into the park. I didn't want to believe this though, since its a big generalization..but I was unfortunately spooked a bit.
I got to the park around 10:50am, and it was completely quiet. Did not see a single other traveler in the entrance or info area. No one working there even looked to see if I had a ticket.
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| National park entrance |
I began the walk and noticed it was right next to a school or daycare of some sort, with loud music playing. But, only after walking a short distance, I saw Capuchin monkeys! Quite a few of them. I was surprised they didn't avoid the loud people-sounds.
I only passed two people going the opposite direction, and was more on alert as I walked further. Eventually, I was too nervous to keep going since the trail was completely isolated. Unfortunately, turned around. I spent only around 40 minutes walking. But ironically, as I was walking back, I passed many people just starting. Must have been five separate groups of people. I still very much enjoyed the Capuchin monkeys though! So at least it wasn't an animal-sighting-less venture.
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| Quiet, well-maintained trail |
Afterwards, I headed back to the hotel and relax by the river. Got super tired though because of the early morning and had to nap.
For lunch, it was a struggle to find a place that was open. There were maybe only three places to chose from. I ended up at Soda Dona Maria, and had the fried fish with fries and salad. The fried fish was tasty and moist.
I really wanted to spend the rest of the day just enjoying the ocean and beach, so I walked all along the beach. I've missed the warm Caribbean waters! It felt so nice to walk in it. Probably would be great swimming too, although Tortuguero beach water is supposed to be off limits due to caimans. I still saw some folks swimming, must have been locals.
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| Just relaxing... |
It was a relaxing afternoon just watching the waves and walking in the warm waters. I think I stayed for more than two hours.
The heat + sunscreen + deet made me feel gross, so I showered before heading to dinner. Wanting convenience, I chose Buddha Cafe since it was next door.
The decor was nice. They have a couple outdoor decks. Little geckos / anoles hang out on their ceilings and walls. I had the Lasagna Bolognese. Tasty and unexpected menu options given the area. On the expensive side for Costa Rica though, $10.
I was exhausted after dinner..waking up early really does encourage me to sleep at 8pm. As I was laying in bed, checking things on my phone, I had a mini heart attack as I thought a leaf got blown onto the pillow next to me. But it was a massive flying COCKROACH. I maybe screamed because it got me by surprise and was right next to me. So..this woke me up. I tried trapping it under the pillow, it escaped. Or there were two? Then it crawled to hide under the other bed. And I really was not sure how I could sleep peacefully that night. I was a wimp and called the after hours number...it rang the owner who lives next door. I felt silly...but it makes sense there can be cockroaches here. We are next to the river and national park in a tropical setting. He came in with some Raid and got the sucker out. Haha that was my excitement for the evening.
The night was a lot cooler compared to last night's, so super comfortable for actually falling asleep sans-roach!
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