San Jose to Tortuguero via La Pavona, Costa Rica
Ok, so on a totally unrelated topic, I wanted the title to be “Somewhere in Costa Rica”, but dad had to find the exact name of the town, so…yeah.
Next stop, Tortuguero. There are only two ways into this island, due to the fact that there are no roads into or out of Tortuguero. You can enter by boat or by plane, or if you are feeling super awesome, you can grow a tail. Our tour group went fron San Jose to La Pavona by bus and then from La Pavona to Tortuguero by boat.
The bus ride was long, literally the only adjective to describe it. Throughout the trip, it was mostly farmland and country, you know, the occasional sloth on a power line. The bus passed a banana plantation, and there were blue bags on the banana trees…that’s odd don’t you think? The reason for these blue bags was to protect the trees from harmful insects and animals. The fences around the land were built from trees; fresh cut trees, not cut wood like in America, but fresh cut trees!
I finally saw civilization. I repeat, I actually saw civilization! There was a wooden building up ahead, and that is where we ate lunch. The lunch consisted of rice and beans, fruit (a lot of it too), and bread and butter. Their food was so good. And, as odd as it might sound, there was an actual butterfly garden in the restaurant, for real! Their butterflies were absolutely stunning. (Fun fact: Costa Rica’s national butterfly is the blue morpho.) Some of the butterflies’ wings looked like the face of an owl, some were a bright blue, and many more different colors and patterns.
The tour group got back on the bus after lunch, and went to the boats that would take us to Tortuguero. We stopped at a store along the way and were introduced to the most evil food on the planet, Bon’o’Bons. Oh my gosh, these things were so amazing. They were little pieces of heaven; chocolate shells with fudge/icing on the inside. They came in caramel, white chocolate, and milk chocolate. We are still on the hunt for them today. I think that I might have a Bon’o’Bon addiction.
We finally made it to the boats. It was a short boat ride to Tortuguero. On the ride, we saw mostly vegetation and a few monkeys up in the trees. Man, those howler monkeys were loud. Who knew that such a tiny creature could have a voice as loud as Jennifer Hudson? Well, anyway, we finally arrived at Tortuguero.
Tortuguero…the Land of the Turtles. This town is a small island in the northeastern region of Costa Rica. The town blew me away when I first saw it. Buildings on this island were small and run-down, something that I wasn’t used to seeing. There was a small school here, some houses, shops, and an ice-cream parlor. In the houses, they had dirt floors and small patios. On these patios, they had a washer and a clothes line. The local people were very kind and welcoming. School-aged children wore uniforms and most of the people that I saw traveled by boat, bicycle, or they walked. Life was unique here, but it was so awesome to be submerged into their culture. We walked the town for a while and then we cruised our way to the beach, which was a unique experience.
The beach was beautiful. The sand was a pure black and the ocean was a gorgeous, lush color of green. I, as smart as I am, decided to walk close the the ocean whilst wearing pants…very intelligent right? Well, I soon realized that that wasn’t such a smart idea. To make a long story short, I got drenched and, well quite literally, sand in my pants. Children, let this be a lesson to you to always put on shorts before entering a beach area…not pants. Speaking of intelligent people, my lovely father decided to try and climb a tree. That did not go so well. Lets just say, well… he fell off the tree. If you are speechless, I could understand why. We decided to go check out the hotel following this most pleasant experience and go change our clothes.
When we got to the hotel, we were so excited to enter a non-air conditioned room…with no windows, just screens. On the plus side, there was an amazing pool. Well, my mother, as sweet as she is, decided to walk in with her pants on. That’s not all. Apparently, there was a giant bullfrog in the pool as well. So…my mother decides to chase after it. Her explanation, “I didn’t want it to die in the pool water!” Now that I think about it, I am so lucky to live with these people!
It was starting to get late, so we went back to the hotel room to chill out and check in for the night. So far, Tortuguero was looking pretty cool to me.