Tortuguero

---

Ever see a red frog or iguanas and spider monkeys climbing trees? Tortuguero lies on the north coast of Costa Rica and is only accessible by plane or boat. We did the van and boat trip which involved a couple of hours on paved road, a couple of hours on gravel road and couple hours by river boat. The trip was interesting in that you go through a National park, vast stretches of banana farms owned by Dole and Del Monte and the ride through the canals to Turtle Beach lodge. We stopped at one of the banana processing facilities and learned a little about the bananas. In Costa Rica, Nicaraguans provide the labor on the farms. It is readily apparent that by the workers lodging at these remote banana farms that they are being taken advantage because of their migrant worker status.

Arriving at Turtle Beach Lodge confirmed that this is a beautiful spot. The lodge sits right on the beach which is deserted except for few guests who go for walks. Leona and I did a few of these walks and didn’t see a soul! The grounds are beautiful and we saw several spider monkeys, toucans and howler monkeys which have a habit of waking you up in the middle of the night.

We also did a couple of tours through the waterways near the Lodge and through the forest. Saw a lot of birds, Caimans, iguanas (we did not know these 3 foot lizards like to climb trees) and red frogs. If you go in the forest, bring your insect repellant!

As far as the lodge goes, we really enjoyed the facilities and environment. The rooms, pool, and beach access were really nice. However, the summer camp atmosphere at times was annoying. The first two days, a group of 25 teenagers would dominate the beautiful tropical ambiance with screaming, laughing and school like chants. Fortunately, our guide the first two days, Anselmo, was very engaging and helpful. The third day, the teenage group left and we joined another guide and group. This guide, Kenneth, did not embrace his employment with as much vigor as Anselmo and did the bare minimum. Also, this group consisted of an American and a French family with teenage children who also thought they were at summer camp.

These disappointments not with standing, this area was absolutely beautiful.

We leave for home tomorrow and contemplating the last six weeks has revealed four different countries. Guatemala with its very prevalent indigenous population, Tikal and obvious security issues, Honduras with its vast forests and intricate ruins at Copan, Nicaragua with the relaxing colonial city of Granada on lake, and Costa Rica and beautiful cloud forest, Tortuguero, and the tranquil hot springs and adrenalin pumping river rafting and zip line at La Fortuna .

---

Photos

Tortuguero Park
Slow down for the manatees!

Caiman
Say cheese

Caiman
we see you!

Iguana
I guess they can climb!