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Published: October 30th 2008
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Buddies
Jorge, the rice farmer from Canas who I met on the bus. Day 23 - September 26th, 2008
(I am writing about September 26th over a month later: its actually October 29: I got wrapped up in things and stopped writing blogs. Alas, we will catch up somehow.)
Today was the last day of class (we had one class everyday for 3 weeks). However, I (and 4 others) skipped class and traveled to Tortuguero, a town on the Caribbean Coast. We got on an early bus to a town called Cariari. I started chatting with a man named Jorge. He is a rice farmer in Cañas and we talked about beaches in Guanacaste and futbol (soccer). I told him about how my city is going to have a new professional soccer team (GO SOUNDERS!) He showed me pictures of his friends and him traveling in CR. It was amazing and awesome to just chat with an everyday Tico about Costa Rica and what life is really like for most Ticos.
When we got off that bus, we waited about an hour in Cariari to catch the bus to La Pavona. It was really freaking hot and humid, so I got ice cream. For the record, the flavor "rum and raisin"
Start
Where we caught the boats from. is the best on the planet. It reminds me of eggnog and whatever heaven must taste like. Don't question this.
It turns out that La Pavona (the destination of our 2nd bus) was a farm in the middle of nowhere. We get off the bus and they herded us towards a river. There were 2 boats waiting for us. The boat ride was amazing. For those of you that have been on/remember "The Jungle Cruise" ride at Disneyland, it was just like that, except real. Really real. We winded down a river for about an hour and a half through the jungle, seeing amazing vegetation, local jungle dwellers, and wildlife. For about $3. We got dropped off right at the dock to our bed and breakfast. Isabel, the lady running Casa Marbella (our B&B) was an angel and helped us with everything. Our B&B was right on the main canal, which is right across from the Caribbean Sea. The tiny town lies between the canal and the Sea. Check the map.
We went and took a walk on the beach. I discovered Caribbean water is CRAZY WARM. It was Literally like bath water, almost uncomfortably warm because it
The boat.
The same kind of boat we took is in the distance. wasn't very "refreshing." Sand flies are pretty vicious though.
I got back to the hotel and was told I had a call. WHAT?!? Who is calling me at my B&B in the middle of nowhere?! Turns out it was a guy that I had talked to on the boat who was a park ranger in Costa Rica and he remembered my name and knew where I was staying and wanted to invite us to dinner. We went to a restaurant tucked away and were cooked authentic Caribbean food by one of the two remaining ORIGINAL inhabitants of the town, before colonization. She was a dark, sweet old woman with a thick Caribbean accent. She cooked us rice and beans flavored with coconut and coconut sauce, fresh caught fish, Caribbean chicken, and fresh pineapple smoothie type drinks (all for $7). Meanwhile, my friend the park ranger told us the history of Tortuguero and why it was important and all about the ecology of the area. And about his affection for Obama. EVERYONE across Costa Rica loves Obama. It's pretty cool.
That night, we went on a turtle tour. Tortuguero is famous for the masses of turtles that come to
Winding
Most of the 1.5 hours was down a narrow river, the one pictured here. nest on its beaches (tortuga is spanish for turtle). We waited from 9-10 pm with our guide, getting nothing but bad news and we got nervous we wouldn't see any. Finally we got the call to head out to the beach. A little explaining: they have assigned people who are "turtles spotters" who stand on the beach in darkness and wait until they see a turtle coming onto the beach. They then flash a red light towards a central post where then people there go and get the guides and the group. So we headed out to the beach and saw two turtles come up onto the beach - they were HUGE. I'm talking like as big as I am. Human sized. But both turtles weren't satisfied with what they found, so they labored back to the ocean without laying eggs. Sad. BUT, then we saw two more coming up. They ended up laying eggs right next to each other and we were able to get close enough to touch these massive yet majestic creatures in an enthralling process. After they lay 100 or so eggs that are the size of pool/billiard balls in a hole they dig, then cover
But then
Then the narrow river opened up into the big canal. it and then dig ANOTHER hole to fake out predators. Smart. But it's a SUPER rigorous process that lasts over an hour. It was absolutely amazing and intriguing to watch. Nature is wicked sweet. We then crashed and slept around midnight, absolutely exhausted from the long day.
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