As you all know, the planning for the Costa Rica trip was done quite hastily. We are doing a GAP tour called the Costa Rica Explorer. Have a look at the map below which will give you an understanding of where we are going. 
We’ve gone for a better class of travel for this tour (mainly because there was nothing else available) and our group is significantly older than our last one with representation from Canada, US, UK and of course Australians. We also thought being a better class of travel would mean less early morning starts… wrong! Up this morning at 5.45am to leave for 6.20am.
We drove for approximately an hour through the dense greenery of Costa Rica when our driver caught sight of a sloth lying in a tree doing what sloths do best… that is nothing.
We all hopped out for a photo opportunity. This is where I considered a change of career- tour bus driving!!
We stopped off half an hour for breakfast which also included for those that were keen the traditional Costa Rica breakfast, gallo pinto or beans and rice. Full up, we hit the road again passing small pineapple plants in large paddocks. They grow around 60,000 pineapples per hectare on these lands and it is a top export earner. We stopped briefly at a banana plantation but mainly just to stretch the legs. To get to the banana plantation we had to drive through huge puddles (almost rivers) and some poorly maintained roads. Banana plants were everywhere. Those with white bags on them indicated that they were almost ready for harvest and those with blue bags indicated that they still had a while to go. 
Out in the field they had a wire system where the banana’s were strung up and made there way back to the factory for sorting and cleaning and then some went to the local market, simply thrown in the back of the truck. The remainder (most of them) were boxed for export. It was quite interesting to see.
Outside the factory though was a man selling coconuts and on his stand he had a huge rhinoceros beetle that was handed around as a photo opportunity. These things and enormous, although not poisonous (we hope!!). Dan thought they looked much tastier than the banana’s. As we drove along we would continue to see them in trees and in the strangest spot, hanging off power lines.
After a long drive we finally made it to the port where the boats take off to bring us to our final destination for the next couple of days, Turtle Lodge Hotel in Tortuguero, population 750. Tortuguero is the rainiest of all rain forests and it is impossible to drive here. You must go by boat, through the canals. Tortuguero is sometimes called “the mini amazon” due to its many canals and abundance of wildlife but is biggest drawcard is that is a turtle breeding site with approximately 40,000 turtles laying their eggs per year.
Our bags were separated from us in our small boat and each individual bag was placed in a garbage bag to protect it from that rains that can (and do) come quick and hard. The boat powered off very quickly for around 30 minutes with our guide stopping on occasion to point out wildlife to us, such as turtles, spoonbills, monkeys and other bird species.
We finally arrived on the main town of Tortuguero where we stretched our legs for 45 minutes, admired the Carribean Sea and had some hot apple pie… as you do! 
Back on the boat we turned into a small hidden canal, slowed right down and made it to our hotel, complete with a 4 foot crocodile perched in the water out the front metres from where we landed. 
Our room is has three sides covered with fly wire and no glass. The beach is only 100m away and the jungle is just behind us. Noises from birds, frogs and the occasional roar of a howler monkey come from behind us but the sound of the surf is constant and relaxing. It’s like paradise inside paradise!! 
We checked in, had a late lunch and then relaxing in hammocks and around the turtle shaped pool with a Dan partaking in some body boarding action in the ocean were the order of the day. 
We were told not to swim in the canal (crocodiles) or the sea (sharks) so Dan went out in waist deep water to catch some waves, in the brownish water. We met for drinks at 7.00pm (this place makes a mean cocktail) followed by dinner.
We decided to see in the new year and went back to the bar at 10.30pm but we were just to tired and went to bed waking to hear the fireworks. Happy New Year everyone. We hope you have a fantastic 2008!
We’ve gone for a better class of travel for this tour (mainly because there was nothing else available) and our group is significantly older than our last one with representation from Canada, US, UK and of course Australians. We also thought being a better class of travel would mean less early morning starts… wrong! Up this morning at 5.45am to leave for 6.20am.We drove for approximately an hour through the dense greenery of Costa Rica when our driver caught sight of a sloth lying in a tree doing what sloths do best… that is nothing.
We all hopped out for a photo opportunity. This is where I considered a change of career- tour bus driving!!We stopped off half an hour for breakfast which also included for those that were keen the traditional Costa Rica breakfast, gallo pinto or beans and rice. Full up, we hit the road again passing small pineapple plants in large paddocks. They grow around 60,000 pineapples per hectare on these lands and it is a top export earner. We stopped briefly at a banana plantation but mainly just to stretch the legs. To get to the banana plantation we had to drive through huge puddles (almost rivers) and some poorly maintained roads. Banana plants were everywhere. Those with white bags on them indicated that they were almost ready for harvest and those with blue bags indicated that they still had a while to go. Out in the field they had a wire system where the banana’s were strung up and made there way back to the factory for sorting and cleaning and then some went to the local market, simply thrown in the back of the truck. The remainder (most of them) were boxed for export. It was quite interesting to see.Outside the factory though was a man selling coconuts and on his stand he had a huge rhinoceros beetle that was handed around as a photo opportunity. These things and enormous, although not poisonous (we hope!!). Dan thought they looked much tastier than the banana’s. As we drove along we would continue to see them in trees and in the strangest spot, hanging off power lines.
After a long drive we finally made it to the port where the boats take off to bring us to our final destination for the next couple of days, Turtle Lodge Hotel in Tortuguero, population 750. Tortuguero is the rainiest of all rain forests and it is impossible to drive here. You must go by boat, through the canals. Tortuguero is sometimes called “the mini amazon” due to its many canals and abundance of wildlife but is biggest drawcard is that is a turtle breeding site with approximately 40,000 turtles laying their eggs per year.Our bags were separated from us in our small boat and each individual bag was placed in a garbage bag to protect it from that rains that can (and do) come quick and hard. The boat powered off very quickly for around 30 minutes with our guide stopping on occasion to point out wildlife to us, such as turtles, spoonbills, monkeys and other bird species.
We finally arrived on the main town of Tortuguero where we stretched our legs for 45 minutes, admired the Carribean Sea and had some hot apple pie… as you do! Back on the boat we turned into a small hidden canal, slowed right down and made it to our hotel, complete with a 4 foot crocodile perched in the water out the front metres from where we landed. Our room is has three sides covered with fly wire and no glass. The beach is only 100m away and the jungle is just behind us. Noises from birds, frogs and the occasional roar of a howler monkey come from behind us but the sound of the surf is constant and relaxing. It’s like paradise inside paradise!! We checked in, had a late lunch and then relaxing in hammocks and around the turtle shaped pool with a Dan partaking in some body boarding action in the ocean were the order of the day. We were told not to swim in the canal (crocodiles) or the sea (sharks) so Dan went out in waist deep water to catch some waves, in the brownish water. We met for drinks at 7.00pm (this place makes a mean cocktail) followed by dinner. We decided to see in the new year and went back to the bar at 10.30pm but we were just to tired and went to bed waking to hear the fireworks. Happy New Year everyone. We hope you have a fantastic 2008!
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