Day 13. San José to Tortuguero

Submitted by maria on Thu, 22/09/2022 - 13:42

At 5.15 we have booked a taxi to go to the Caribbean Bus Terminal.

Tortuguero canals

He's late and doesn't arrive until half past one, he says he can't enter the street because it's pedestrianised even though the hotel manager says he can. It seems that at night they can circulate in the pedestrian streets but as it is already daylight here at 5 a.m., there start to be a lot of people and they don't allow him to enter.

We arrive at the station at 5.45 a.m. We buy the ticket (2.130 colones/pax) and go to have breakfast in a restaurant inside the station. The terminal looks very safe, it reminds us of the ones in Colombia, there are only passengers not hustlers.

We have bought a ticket to Cariari, from there we take another bus to La Pavona where we take the boat to Tortuguero.

Braulio Carrillo National Park

At 6.30 a.m. the bus leaves. We talk to a very nice man who goes to Guápiles.

Bus schedule from San Jose to Cariari, 06:30 h, 09:00 h, 13:00 h (there are buses that leave later, but you won't arrive in time to catch the last bus to La Pavona).

Bus schedules from Cariari to La Pavona, Departure times: 05:00 h, 11:30 h, 15:00 h.

The last bus from Cariari to La Pavona leaves at 3 p.m. The last boat to Tortuguero from La Pavona departs at 16:00.

Departure times of the boats from Pavona to Tortugero : 6.00/6.30am, 9.00/9.30am, 11.20am, 1.00/1.30pm, 4.00pm.

The route is amazing, we cross the Braulio Carrillo National Park, it looks great, full of trees up to the top of the mountains, there is no room for another tree. What a pity not to visit it.

Tortuguero lagoon

In just two hours we arrive in Cariari. At the station itself they offer us a van to get to the La Pavona dock for 2.000 colones/pax. The bus costs 1.000 colones/pax and we have to wait until 11.30 a.m. We think about it and after talking to a Spanish woman who has been living in Costa Rica for 15 years, we decide to take the van. It is worth paying 1.000 colones compared to waiting for 3 hours at the station.

Miss Miriam

It takes about 40 minutes to get to the dock. Cristina, who runs Casa Jaguar, tells us a lot of interesting facts about Tortuguero and the country in general. She has a cute little dog and tells us that pets often become food for jaguars and crocodiles. In fact, she had one in her house very close by.

At the pier there are public and private boats. The public one costs 3.000 colones/pax, don't pay more.

Tortuguero

The van driver wants to be clever and charge us 1.000 colones more per person for the boat with the excuse of the suitcases, anyway.

Remember that the last boat that leaves daily for Tortuguero is at 4 p.m. and tickets are bought directly from the boats. We met a couple who had to pay 90$ for a private boat as they arrived at night.

The boat ride is amazing, the canals are breathtaking. We see alligators, iguanas and basilisks. A guy shows us a video of a sloth giving birth, brutal.

When you arrive in the village of Tortuguero you are offered many tours to book. We contacted Célimo, a licensed guide recommended to us in Uvita, and booked three excursions with him, canals by boat without motor, a night tour and a turtle tour, all for 60$/pax.

Enchilada stand

The Caribbean village of Tortuguero is located within the National Park. Surrounded by a beautiful freshwater lagoon and the Caribbean Sea, it is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the enormous possibilities it has to offer. Turtle watching, walks along the canals, a visit to Tortuguero Hill or just strolling through the streets enjoying the surroundings.

It is the most important area to see the Green turtle nesting which takes place between July and October every year. September is a good month to visit as it increases the chances of seeing turtles hatching out of their eggs and heading out to sea, they take around 60 days to hatch.

Tortuguero

There is no ATM or pharmacy in Tortuguero, so remember to carry enough cash.

We stay at Miss Miriam. Ainoa, a Spanish girl who has been living in Tortuguero for five years, looks after us. The accommodation is very nice, it has a swimming pool and bar, and they are working on expanding it. Our room with bathroom and sea view is very nice.

We met up with Célimo to get to know each other. It was very hot and we had a drink (2 juices 4,400 colones). We agreed on the visits and paid him. Although we have not booked the Jaguar trail with him, he offers to join us. Tonight we do the turtle tour and tomorrow the rest.

Trail to Cerro Tortuguero

We want to go to Cerro Tortuguero and he advises us to take the "periférico", (that's how they call the boat bus) for 1.000 colones/trip, at 14.30 hours when the sun goes down a bit. We have to get the entrance ticket for the Cerro sector before we go, you have to get it online through the SINAC Cerro sector. We take advantage of this and get the ticket for the Canales sector for tomorrow.

We eat at a food stall near the pier an enchilada, an empanada and a coke for 4.000 colones. They are brutal.

Trail to Cerro

At 14.30 we take the peripheral bus that leaves from the town's quay. We cross the lagoon to our stop. The captain tells us that he will pick us up at 5.30 at the same stop or if we prefer to walk to the village of San Francisco there is also another stop.

A guard asks us for our entrance number as we get off the boat.

The path is very simple and paved. The sounds of the jungle return, howler monkeys and macaws are the loudest. In about 20 minutes we reach the viewpoint. You climb up a staircase, be careful because you can see red frogs, spiders, bullet ants and other curious insects.

Cerro Tortuguero

The views from the viewpoint are spectacular. It is really worth it.

We walk down to the start and take the path on the right that takes us through the forest to one of the channels of the lagoon where we see red frogs, near the ranger station.

Bale Ant

The path has information signs and there is a cave inhabited by bats. Suddenly a thunderous sound and something running through the middle of the forest at full speed, I don't know what it was but it was big!

Trail

Near the ranger's hut in the middle of the slope we see 3 rather large dogs chasing something, we call out to them but they ignore us. We are told that loose dogs are a danger in this area and can become the lunch of a jaguar.

Red frog

Recommendations. Closed shoes, water, sunscreen and insect repellent, even though most of the route is in the shade and concrete there are many insects, we are in a wetland.

Once we have finished the trail we walk to the village of San Francisco. We have been recommended to try the homemade ice cream but they don't open until 5.30 am. After a walk we go to the pier while we wait for a beer and watch the sunset.

On the way back to Tortuguero, a swim in the pool, we meet again a couple from Alicante with whom we were in Manuel Antonio, what a pleasure to see each other!

We have an early dinner and change our clothes, tonight we are going to see the turtles nesting!

Red frog

We dined in soda D'Leite, you can pay by credit card. Two beers, chifrijo and burrito.

For the turtle tour you have to wear dark clothes, nothing reflective. Mobile phones and cameras are not allowed, even smart watches are not allowed. You can bring a torch or headlamp to light the way to the beach, but it is forbidden to focus on the turtles as this could confuse them. To see them, the guides carry torches with a red light. The rangers are very strict with the rules.

Tortuguero lagoon

We meet Célimo at 9 p.m., while we wait at the meeting point for the spotters to give us passage, he tells us curiosities about the Green turtle. The tour usually lasts 2 hours.

These sea turtles return to their place of birth to lay their eggs. They always do this at night as the heat of the sun would suffocate them during the day. As they evolved, they lost their legs and turned into flippers, which is why it is so difficult for them to get from the water to the nesting site, as they have to drag all their weight (up to 200 kg) to lay their eggs and after making the nest, laying the eggs and covering it up again, they return to the sea. This process can take about 2 hours.

Lizard

They may lay between 100 and 120 eggs per clutch, of which only one or two hatchlings will survive. They can do this for 10 weeks.

They give us passage and we approach the beach. There are several numbered entrances. The turtles are huge! When we arrived one of them was starting to lay its eggs. You can even hear it breathing hard from the effort. At that moment the turtles are in a trance, so you can't touch them, make any noise or shine a light that is not red and not even in their faces. It is hypnotic.

After laying her eggs she covers the nest with her hind flippers. We are alerted that another one is coming and we see her making the nest. Another turtle nearby is finishing covering the nest and heads out towards the water. It gets entangled in some branches but eventually heads out to sea. The sound of it crawling is incredible.

In total we saw 4 turtles and we are sure there would have been dozens on the beach. A wonderful experience thanks to the best guide in the country, a passionate nature lover.

Tortugero beach is closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day of the year. The turtle tour can only be done with an authorized guide. Sometimes around 5 or 5.30 in the morning you can get lucky and find a straggler trying to get to the sea. Nevertheless it is a perfect place to see the sunrise.