Costa Rica II

On our return trip to Costa Rica, we took the advice from our friends that have traveled the country and decided to visit Tortuguero, a northern caribbean coastal town reknowned for being home to turtle watching and referred to as the 'mini-amazon', and Tamarindo, known for its beaches and first rate surfing.

To travel to Tortuguero from San Jose, you have to take two buses and a boat. Since the area is protected, there has been no development to reach the town, therefore, the only way to reach the coastal town is by boat. The bus rides are unspectacular, but the boat ride was pretty sweet and we were able to witness several wildlife animals along the way, including Ami spotting the famous green iguana.

Our main purpose of going to Tortuguero was to hopefully spot a leatherback turtle coming to shore and laying it's eggs. These turtles are GINORMOUS, and the best time to witness them is during the night. Therefore, we signed up for a 10 pm to 12 midnight walk along the beaches in hopes of observing the leatherback doing its thing. The beginning of the hike was amazing. Just imagine, pitch black, but your vision is aided my the salt filled waves gently breaking against the shore and the bright stars lighting up the sky, coupled with a gentle breeze to combat the warm night air. The rest of hike was more of the same view, and unfortunately for us, a lack of spotting a leatherback. So basically we hiked up and down the beach and saw nothing. There were some grumblings in the line that we were moving too quickly and with the guide using his flashlight sparingly, many were wondering could we be walking past a turtle. Anyways, the thoughts did not change the fact we did not see anything, and the guide did explain the chances were 50/50.

We also explored the town by foot in about 15 minutes, as it has that small town, everybody knows everyone else feel. The town is flanked by a river on one end and the ocean on the other. As far as excursions, there also is the opportunity to walk through or take guided tours through the preserve. Our main draw was the leatherback turtles on our excursion to this town, but we left with a great impression of the town itself.

After a detour and a night in San Jose, we traveled north to Tamarindo, a popular pacific coast destination for locals and tourists. I have to emphasize the popular part, as the location not only well-known for great surf breaks, but the development going on in this town is ridiculous. The condos, the resorts, the shopping malls, etc.....this place will be different in a number of years. The town itself is small, set alongside the ocean. The beaches seem never-ending.

Ami and I found a hostel nestled in the middle of town run by a french couple. The hostel was on the beach, therefore we did not hesitate to the hit the beaches once we had a room. The main reason we came to Tamarindo was the draw of the Pacific coast, especially in Costa Rica, and the desire to try surfing. As I mentioned, the town was picturesque, and the surfing was world class. We opted to rent boards to give it a try. We watched some ameteurs give it a go, and thought, eh, why not? So, we rented boards, and spent our brief experience either in the water or paddling along on the board. When waves came, we either were eaten up and knocked around or basically rode the waves lying down, which was pretty sweet! I got a couple of squats in there, but never stood up. Ami took a liking to riding the waves to shore laying down. Next time we will make sure to get lessons, but nonetheless we enjoyed the experience.