I was determined not to leave Costa Rica this time without seeing the amazing spectacle of giant sea turtles laying their eggs. Due to bad timing and previous commitments we had missed the turtle laying season in nearby Gandoca earlier in the summer. So, when ATEC, a non-profit eco-tourism association in Puerto Viejo that promotes local, sustainable travel in this area (http://www.ateccr.org/), offered a 2-day trip to watch the Green Turtles nest along the beaches of Tortuguero National Park, we jumped on it. We arrived at the dock in Moin, outside of Limon, early Thursday morning, for our 4-hour guided tour to the small village of Tortuguero on Costa Rica‘s northeastern Caribbean coast. The waterway we traveled ran parallel to the ocean and consisted of natural rivers and connecting canals which had been built years ago by the banana companies to bring their products down to the Port of Limon for shipping. Although our group of 12 represented the countries of Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and the US, everyone spoke either Spanish, English or both, Our bi-lingual guide, Ricardo, pointed out crocodiles, caiman, monkeys, sloth, and an amazing number of bird species along the way. Half way there we stopped at an outdoor restaurant on the river bank and enjoyed a delicious family-style fried chicken lunch. Then back to the river and on to Tortuguero.
Our lodge, All Rankin’s Family Lodge, was a few kilometers north of the village. The lodge had its own riverside restaurant, bar and hammock patio, and each couple had their own cabina with a cozy porch. After a brief rest at the lodge, Ricardo brought us back - by boat, of course - to the small village of Tortuguero where we had a couple of hours to explore on our own. Even without turtles, this charming village would be worthy of a trip. Then it was back to the lodge and a fantastic marlin dinner (there was actually a choice of meat, chicken or fish but how could we pass up fresh marlin). And now it was time to see if we could spot a Green Turtle nesting on the beach.
The beach at Tortuguero National Park is the most important nesting site of the endangered Green Turtle in the Western Hemisphere. It now includes over 46,000 acres and protects 22 miles of nesting beach. It is impressive, and heartwarming, to read the story of the Green Turtle’s near extinction in the 1960s and the conservation efforts that followed, especially the work with local townspeople to help them see the sustainable value to their community of having the live turtles on the beach rather than exporting them for food and other uses. (50,000 plus tourists visit the area annually). The results are evident with 50,000 plus tourists visiting the area annually. Many villagers go through a government sponsored training program and are issued permits authorizing them to guide tourists on nightly turtle watching excursions. Our guide, Eddy, was one of them and the pride and professionalism they show is evident.
Every precaution is taken to ensure that the nesting turtle is not disturbed. We were in a group of 9 and there were 3 additional groups of about the same number in our designated area on the beach. Each area had a designated “ranger” who radioed to the individual guides when a turtle was spotted moving up to dry land. If the turtle senses something is wrong, sees a flash of light, hears an unusual sound, or anything suspicious, she will turn around and go back out to sea. Therefore, only the ranger and the guides are allowed to have flashlights - with red lights. And, no cameras are allowed at all (thus my turtle story features crocodile photos). Once the turtle is on land, finds a suitable spot to lay her eggs, digs a large hole and begins to actually lay her eggs, then the guide will bring the tourist groups by to watch this amazing act of nature. We has 2 different turtles dig their nests near us. Our 3 groups took turns going up to the nesting hole to watch this process. We then watched as the giant turtles covered their 100 plus eggs with sand, packed it down and moved their way out of the nest hole and back to the ocean.
As if this were not enough, after a hearty breakfast the next morning, Ricardo brought us for a 2-hour boat ride through the twisted canals of Tortuguero National Park, pointing out even more birds and animals. Before we knew it, it was time to return to civilization, the huge turtles, the quaint village, the adventurous boat ride, interesting people, all but a memory - until next time.
For more information about Tortuguero I suggest you try this link: http://www.tortugueroinfo.com/usa/sea_turtles_tortuguero.htm
