Blogs from Parque Nacional Tortuguero, Limón, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

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After my first decent night's sleep of the trip so far I wake refreshed and ready to go on an early morning canoe trip around the lagoon and rivers, or canals as they call them here. We meet Bill our octogenarian canoe guide and set off in our 15 seater canoe towards the 'entrance' to the national park where we have to pay to get in. The government uses money collected in this way for the upkeep of all the national parks. It turns out Bill is a bit of a character and an excellent spotter of wildlife, with information to match. He tells us he was born in 1928 which is the same year my mum was born. There's lots of banter thrown back and forth between the other canoe guys and Bill. He's obviously ... read more

Dear Readers, Hot on the heels of my last update, thought I'd give you a flavour of some of the highlights from the first 3 days in March in Jalova (the location in the National Park where Base is located). 1 March: got up earlier than needed so I could spot birds in Base. Binos in hand wandered from the garden area, to the back of the kitchen and then back near the compost bins. Pretty good start to the day as managed to see (and identify no less) a Blue-gray Tanager, Common Tody Flycatcher and spotted the resident Clay Colored Robin (yes I know American spelling of colour but I am following how it's spelt in the bird book). That morning after breakfast there was no survey because Saturdays are the official 'day off' in ... read more

US$ ≈ 500 Costa Rican colones (col) Tortuguero National Park lies on the remote Northern Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. From April to May and July to October two species of sea turtles return to the shore to lay their eggs. During these seasons there are programs for tourists to take guided night walks on the beach to look for egg-laying turtles and hatchlings. According to my canoe guide, Costa Rica hosts 75% of all the world's sea turtles which astounds me. Even though I came here out of season I really enjoyed Tortuguero. The weather's nice but not oppressively hot like Corcovado and the accommodation suits all budgets. It's got kind of an Afro-Caribe vibe so it's very relaxing... definitely not a party scene but plenty of places to chug a cold one. The sea ... read more

Hi All, How are you? Sorry I have not been in touch. It seems that the jungle and technology are not the best of friends but I am currently in civilisation of sorts so I am going to use the opportunity to upload some photos and let you know what I have been up to! So, the image below is of Andrew the American Crocodile. He lives at the Estuary/beach where we visit most days to get the boat to start our canal bird surveys. Andrew is huge....he has a couple of friends who have been named after some of the staff at Base. There are occasions where we are walking on the same side of the beach as Andrew....at a respectful distance. We have been told if Andrew decides to 'come after us' to run ... read more