August 18, 2009: Tortugero

Owen: I am very hot and tired and don’t feel like typing much at the moment, but I am sure I will want to remember every minute of this trip, so I’ll make it short and sweet. After eating breakfast, we jumped into a tourist van, which had a small T.V. in it, and headed to Limon. The television played an 80’s love ballad mix the whole way there. These are some good songs, but they get stuck in your head so easily.

In Limon, we stopped for a bathroom break, food and water, and shopping for about 45 minutes. We then drove to Moin, the largest port in Costa Rica. From there, we hopped in a boat with a guide named Marlo. Marlo knows the most about nature of anyone I have ever met. Point at an animal, a bird, or reptile, etc., and he will be able to tell you a lot of information and the scientific name of that animal. He even has a book so you can see if you can prove him wrong. He was the man. We all loved his energy. He told us how a Fair DeLance snake, a very poisonous snake, bit him. He described his pain in full detail, showed us the scar, and how the venom caused some muscle atrophy in his left leg, which was so much skinnier than his right! It was like comparing a forearm to a shin.

We arrived in Tortugero, and Marlo seemed to really like Sean, Liam and I. He offered to bring us on a search for snakes in the jungle, free of charge. Along the hike, bugs were dominating us. Almost ready to turn back, Marlo spotted an impossibly hard to see eyelash viper. It was curled up on a leaf at about eye level, about 5 feet off the trail. He caught it on a stick and told us information about it, but I was spacing out and only singing the song stuck in my head. “Hello. Is it me you’re looking for?” by Lionel Richie repeating painfully in my head. Sean can tell you all about it though, so just talk to him. On the way back, we watched the sunset over the Caribbean ocean, while I was rocking out to “Lying alone, with my head on the phone, Thinking of you ‘til it hurts...”.

It was then time for dinner and we went for pizza as a group. It was great food and Sean, Liam and I split a Caribbean Pizza (just like a Hawaiian, but with peppers). I overheard some people humming the tune of “Just call me angel, of the morning, baby. Just touch my cheek before you leave, darling.” Etc. etc.

Then it was off to Turtle watching. At that point, I was focused; all songs were wiped clean from my mind. It took forever before we got to see the turtles, but when we did, it was awesome. Possibly the coolest thing any of us will see in our entire lives. We saw a big green turtle laying eggs in the sand. She layed about 130, and then covered them all up. We then saw a different turtle scuttling back to the ocean. This was amazing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t bring cameras or anything, for fear of scaring the turtles. Liam will describe this adventure to you in full detail.

Anyways, I guess that wasn’t so short, but whatever. I’m gonna pack for Rara Avis and go to sleep. One Love.

Liam: The day once again started very early, we got up and went for breakfast. After breakfast was checkout, then into the van for a drive to Limon. After Limon we got to a harbor were we all boarded a boat for a four-hour boat ride. Our guide, Marlo, was awesome. A little way into the boat ride he came to where Sean, Owen, and I were sitting. We soon learned that he was a bird enthusiast, and along with many bird walks that he told us about he said that he was a professional photographer of birds. He told us some of the many trips he went on and that we would soon be going to Tanzania to get some pictures.

When we got to Tortugero we put our stuff away and went for lunch. After lunch we met Marlo for a snake walk. We found a pit viper, aka eyelash viper. It was really cool and Sean ate some termites during the walk.

After a shower and a meeting about the next few days, we went to get pizza for dinner. We had to eat fast because we went to see the Green Turtles lay their eggs. The first thing we saw was a turtle laying its eggs in a nest it made. While watching this we were called by a ranger to see a turtle making its way into the water. After seeing this we saw the first turtle burying the eggs. On our way out we saw another turtle laying eggs. Then we went home and went to sleep.

Sean: Well I believe today really wiped the little brothers out! Still, I forced them to make their blog entries, which I am sure they will thank me for sometime in the near future.

By far the best part of the day came near the end. We took a guided night walk to a protected beach where many sea turtles lay their eggs each year. It is currently the season for Green Sea turtles. The trip started with a 1.5-2 mile hike through the jungle to the beach. We had to light our way with headlamps, drawing all the nights bugs right into our faces. Then we reached a waiting area where a ranger told us to wait until someone spotted a turtle. Before long we were told to head to the beach as several turtles had may their way up onto the sand.

When we reached the beach we had to turn of all lights and promise not to take any photographs. Then the guide had us gather around while she talked about the natural history of the Green Sea Turtle. After an agonizingly long wait we were allowed to watch the mother laying her eggs. She was an amazing 4-5 foot long beauty. We had to take turns with 2 other groups on the beach. At one point while we were waiting to get back to the nest a ranger signaled us to come over. We were able to watch a different turtle scurrying down the beach towards the water. It was awesome to witness such a large creature quickly making its way back to the ocean. The entire experience ranks as one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the 3 hour boat ride through the canal systems surrounding Tortuguero. We got to see more howler monkeys, many birds, caiman, and the plant that is used to make Channel #5.

Ohh and yes, I ate some termites while on our snake walk once in Tortuguero. Our guide ate them and then asked if anyone in the group would also like to sample these tiny creatures. Surprisingly, they tasted like peanut butter and lime mixed together.

Well, I must be off to pack for another early morning departure…