To An Entirely New World!

Unlike every other Gate1 tour we have taken, and this was number 11, we did not have a meet-n-greet welcome dinner on our first night. Admittedly, we did have this on our second night when visiting Vietnam, but for Costa Rica, there was none.  I'm still not sure why.  That said, it meant that it was not until breakfast this Tuesday morning that we began seeing and meeting our fellow travelers.  

Our posted schedule for the day said that we were going to depart the hotel at 8:00am and then stop for a "second breakfast" around 10:00am, before continuing to Tortuguero, where we'd spend the next two nights.  We had a huge tour bus -- evidently the largest Gate1 has in Costa Rica -- for our group of 28.  We were told the maximum tour size was 42, so we were happy with 28.  During the course of the trip, though, we often talked among ourselves that we don't see a group of 42 being feasible, given the number and size of the boats we used during our trip.  Plus, our tour showed as "sold out" on the website, so we suspect that larger size couldn't have applied to tours that go to Tortuguero.  

Our tour guide, Gio, was just fantastic.  We all laughed, as is name was Giovani, which is hardly Hispanic, and he was native Costa Rican.  We learned that his mother was a huge fan of a Mexican telenovela, and the main heartthrob when her son was born was named Giovani Mancini, so she gave that name to her son!  

It did not take us too long to leave San Jose proper.  Costa Rica is the size of West Virginia and has about 5 million people, with about 30 percent of those living in the capital.  Still, before long we were climbing, which was something, since San Jose already sits higher than 3,800 feet above sea level.  We drove into a rainforest and encountered very thick clouds as we crossed the continental divide, passing from the Pacific to the Caribbean side of the country.  We learned that the highway on which we rode was the main artery connecting San Jose to large ports on both coasts, from where their primary exports (fruit and vegetables) leave.  There had been a cross-country rail line, but it was destroyed during a major 7.7 scale earthquake in 1991.  Despite efforts, the line has never been repaired so all the freight must move by trucks, which is what we encountered in long lines along the highway.  

Crossing the Continental Divide

We did indeed stop for a "second breakfast" at a roadside restaurant, but few of us ate, as the spread at the hotel had been so extensive.   That said, we did all get to use the restrooms and caught sight of our first sloths of the trip.  There were two in the trees outside the restaurant, so that got a buzz going amongst us all.  They certainly are cute, but given that they literally move at a snail’s pace, if at all, they often just appear as furry lumps in the high treetops.

Sloth

We continued a little further on the main highway, but then turned off to a much smaller road which traversed miles and miles of banana plantations.  The scale was very impression and somewhat hard to comprehend.  We saw that every single bunch of bananas is wrapped in a special pesticide-laden blue bag which protects the fruit and ensures that they ripen all at the same time.  Elaborate pully systems link the trees to central processing centers in each field, where workers take the bunches from the pullies, wash and then box the bananas for export.  We also saw that each field had its own airfield, from where crop dusters would spray the groves.  The scale and amount of human labor just defies logic, and I cannot understand how we can buy bananas in the store for $0.29 pound in Virginia and that makes enough profit for all the growers, processors, shippers, middle men, etc.!

Banana Plantation -- Note the Blue Bags Around Each Bunch

It was raining quite hard during most of this part of the trip, which meant few good pictures.  The rain did let up, though, when we left the paved road and got a several-mile "Costa Rican massage" as the bus made its way through muddy, rutted dirt roads, which eventually led us to a small river port, where several other tour buses had assembled.  All of the other folks appeared to be arriving, whereas we were departing.

After using the restrooms, we all loaded onto a single boat, with a roof but no windows, along with all of our luggage.  We rode for about 90 minutes and, along the way, passed several small settlements and we saw a huge number and variety of birds.  The rain held off, thankfully, and the last 30 minutes or so of the trip we were traversing the Tortuguero National Park, which is only accessible by air or boat.  The town of Tortuguero itself, is similarly accessible.  The park covers over 77,000 acres, has 11 different habitats, which makes it a haven for wildlife of all kinds, and was created in 1970.  It's main claim to fame is the protected beaches where thousands of sea turtles come every year to lay their eggs.

On the Boat to Tortuguero

Baby Cayman

We were staying in an "eco-lodge" located a short way downriver from the small town of Tortuguero proper.  It comprised dozens of cabins, none of which have air conditioning or heat, and which instead have walls of screens on all sides.  The cabins are built on mangroves, with walkways connecting all of the various buildings, including a couple restaurants, main check-in, bars, etc.  We received a welcome drink and orientation briefing on the dock as we arrived, and it was then that Anna realized we were at the same resort at which she and Jane had stayed during their visit.

Arriving at Our Lodge

Our Cabin

Our Cabin

After settling in, we reassembled and took a short boat ride to the town, where we had a brief tour, to include the beach area, where we heard about the turtle conservation efforts.  We were not in nesting season, so we had to settle for explanations.  Anna, however, had visited when the turtles were active and did get to go on a nighttime tour to see the hatchlings scramble into the sea.  

Tortuguero "Turtle Beach"

Our Guide, Gio

Earlier in the morning, during our welcome as we left San Jose, Gio had told us about the Costa Rican expression "Pura Vida."  He said that it translates roughly to "pure life" and is the unofficial motto for Costa Rica. He said it has become a standard part of their Spanish, and that is used as a greeting, farewell, answer to questions, etc.  It is supposed to reflect a "laid-back and no-worries attitude."  I didn't think much about this, but by now I was already hearing the expression very often.  Locals were using it with each other, and even Gio was ending his sentences with it.  We really came to appreciate it, as both a sentiment and a goal, and it seems to perfectly reflect the Costa Rican mindset. 

We had been warned about the unpredictable weather and, sure enough, it could (and did) start raining at any time, with little to no warning.  The area gets 250 inches of rain a year, and we were visiting in the dry season.  A very heavy storm moved through, and we sought shelter outside of a school, but it passed in less than five minutes, and the sun was back out.  The town itself was not much, and all orientated toward the conservation efforts and the three or four resorts in the area.  We elected to enjoy some riverside drinks at a small cafe, before meeting back up with the group and heading back to our resort, where we assembled at one of the riverside bars for more pre-dinner welcome drinks.  

Little Church in Tortuguero

Dinner was in a separate building and served buffet style.  All of the meals at Tortuguero tasted great, even if they didn't look particularly appetizing.  Every little thing at the place has to be taken in and then out again, so they try to conserve as much as possible.  

As we walked back to our cabin, in the dark after dinner, we realized the sheer volume and variety of animal noises that filled the night.  The sounds of insects, frogs, monkeys, birds, etc. was constant, and with only screens for walls, all of that noise came directly into the cabin.  We thought we'd have trouble sleeping, but we were all pretty exhausted and slept surprisingly well, despite the cacophony going on outside.  

Ground Covered on Day 1