Tortuguero

Friday 17/7

Today we got an early start & went to Tortuguero. It's on the Caribbean side of the country, about 3.5 hrs away, & boats are required to navigate the canals that connect the area.

We decided on a 1-day tour with a company called Safari Joe's. We met our guide & the rest of the group at a hotel in San Jose & were on our way by 6:30am.

Our guide, Robert, was a local Tico & bilingual. He explained so much to us on the trip & was super informative. Tortuguero gets its name from the turtles, tortugas, who nest there from July to October.

Our first stop was at a restaurant for a typical Costa Rican breakfast--eggs, toast, juice, coffee, gallo pinto & fruit. They even had hot milk for us, which was a nice change from the crema we've been having in our coffee everywhere!

While driving, Robert shared information, called on Evan, Christina, Brittany & I to ask questions & enjoyed patting our heads. I might add that there were maybe 15 others on the tour with us. Oh, Latin men.

After that, it was back in the van & off to a banana plantation. We passed miles & miles of banana trees before reaching the heart of the plantation. I was so surprised to see that the plantation was del Monte!

We got to see a banana tree up close, its' fruit wrapped in a blue bag to ensure equal riping. All trees are also tagged with a colored mark to signify their stage of growth.

Once the bananas are ripe, they are picked, put onto rollers--metal contraptions to transport the fruit through the harsh, uneven land where the trees are--and brought up to the factory. Here, they are cleaned in a bath, cut into bundles of 6, bathed again & placed in bags, like we see in the store. It was pretty cool seeing them ready to be shipped out in their del Monte bags!

I also got my hands on my first pipa, something I'd been waiting for! For c500, a man makes a hole in a baby coconut for you, you drink the coconut water & go back so he cab chop it in half for you so the inside can be eaten. Definitely more exciting that Vita coconut water at home! It was interesting... Robert told us there would be 2 men there selling pipas there & so to make sure we split ourselves up between them so they can each get money for their family...

That's something that I haven't toughest upon much. Never a day goes by that I haven't been witness to serious poverty. And yet, the people are friendly, positive & full if smiles. I noticed it every day in Carpio, I've noticed it while traveling... in our society, both in the US & abroad, the divide between those who live comfortably & those who are in need is vast. This trip has opened my eyes to all that & more...

But more on that later! After the bananas & pipas, we were in for a rougg 1:20 on a rocky road. Seriously. You couldn't talk without sounding like a 5 year old on a bumpy ride! An hour & twenty minutes has new meaning when spent this way!

Once in Tortuguero, we boarded a small boat & went to eat lunch. Comida tipica... rice, beans, jerk chicken (were on the Caribe!), veggies, cukes & tomatoes fit for a king! We had awesome fresh squeezed limonada & cafe at the end. On the boat again! By the way, its been raining heavily this entire time & were all sporting ponchos. Hot! I wore wet shoes (yes, I have a pair) & am so happy I did! Some places walking to & from the boat were ankle deep!

Next up was a boatride, looking for wildlife & enjoying the... rain ;) we saw sloths, monkeys, numerous birds & even a CROCODILE! The boat took us to the end of the canal, where it meets the ocean & here we hiked a bit. We saw turtle nests & even a couple eggs who didn't make it.

After what seemed like a year with Robert, we had reached the end of our day & it was time to head back to the city. After our day with him & my 2 hours a day with my Spanish teacher, Teddy (he totally should've made it into the blog, but didnt), & their outward affections, I'm really going to miss the gentle, unnecessary touch of a Tico when I go home! Robert even told me my hair smelled nice, what shampoo did I use, he wants to go buy it. Sure you do. Haha!

Regardless, the day was great & it was $90 well spent! Bring on more adventures!