San Jose to Tortuguero

Well I've finally arrived in Costa Rica after months of anticipation.. and my trip has got off to a pretty good start. My flight via Atlanta seemed to take forever and I arrived after 20 hours or so of travelling.. fun fun fun! My hostel in San Jose was in the good part of town but I tell you what, there were still plenty of prostitutes around! I didn't do much aside from lie by the pool and recover, but I did venture out to buy my bus ticket for my first stop - Tortuguero Village.

Tortuguero is a national park along the coastline, made up of canals and wetlands. It is possibly one of the more inaccessible places I'll be going to, as the best way there is a bus from San Jose to Cariari, a second bus to La Pavona, and then a boat (1.5 hours) along the canals and rivers. Having said that, the journey ran like clockwork - they are obviously used to tourists and even the public buses (i.e. not the tourist shuttles) make it very easy for tourists to get from one bus to the other. The boat trip was stunning, it felt like going into the heart of the jungle, where all the plants are supersized and prehistoric. You can see more of my photos by looking at the map.

I got to Tortuguero in one sweaty piece (it is hotter and more tropical at the coast, with temperatures of around 31 degrees) and found my way to my hostel, El Icaco, situated right on the beach, with hammocks and everything :) The guidebooks say that we shouldn't swim in the sea here because of rip tides but the locals say that it's fine to go waist deep, which is what I've been doing. Try and stop me!!

The first day here was active, to put it mildly, starting at 5.30 am with a canoe tour of the river. Stunning morning, and so peaceful - not your average Saturday morning! We saw 3 iguanas, 2 sloths, a caiman (mini crocodile) and a lot of howler and spider monkeys. Pretty amazing. Then I had a hike through the rainforest and leisurely lunch, followed by a swim in the sea. Tonight I'm going on a tour to see leatherback turtles laying their eggs on the beach. Very happy bunny.

Tortuguero village has no roads or cars, and everyone knows everyone, which sounds nice until the tour guide takes a fancy to you and there is nowhere to hide - he even came knocking on my door to ask me to join him on a tour of his 'private land'. Not to mention being approached at a riverside bar (mid afternoon) by 4 men - 2 fishermen, a boatman, and a businessman - in turn, each trying to chat me up. It has been heavenly and relaxing here but I am looking forward to moving on to Cahuita National Park, further down the coast.