Tortuguero

On the Caribbean Ocean there lies a town surrounded by both salt and fresh water.   The town is called Tortuguero and it makes it way in the world by selling Eco-Tourism.  They sell the experience of learning about both the salt water and the fresh water eco systems that surround them.  The town can be found just a few hundred km from the Nicaraguan boarder on a small strip of land no wider than some international airport runways. The land is situated between the salt water of the Caribbean Ocean and the fresh water of the estuaries and mangrove swamps of the Rio de Tortuguero.  We spent three days in Tortuguero learning and adventuring with the people of this very secluded town.

We first learned about the fresh water ecosystem by taking a tour in a canoe through the canals and passages near the town.  We had the luck of having a hawk eyed guide that could spot the snout of a Camion from 30 m away and distinguish the shape of a Jesus Lizard in the tangle of foliage that packed each side of the canals we traversed. 

The best part of the trip in my opinion was when we came upon a group of white-faced monos (monkeys), which was crossing over the canal in front of us.  It was a group of maybe six monkeys with one who couldn’t have been more than a few months old.  He was no bigger than the palm of a large mans hand, but he had the determination of his parents that he was going to make his own way.  We watched him try several times to cross the river, each time trying a new path through the tangle of limbs above us.  Twice we thought he would fall due to how far he was out on the end of a branch, but each time the branch held his little weight and he was able to turn back and find another way until finally through persistence and trial and error he was able to follow after his elders on to greener pastures, or whatever greater glory makes a monkey want to cross the road… I mean canal.

The Estuaries surrounding Tortuguero

The second great experience we had in Tortuguero had to do with the Caribbean Sea and the amazing animals that come out of the sea every night during July to help proliferate their species.  After waiting for the dark of the night and walking without flashlights for several minutes on the beach we came upon the object of our search.  A Green Sea Turtle, which was giving birth into a cave it had dug in the sand.  Many of you in Moscow might be imagining a turtle right now that could swim around in Hordimans pond and that you could pick up and take home with you.  You are a little off if you are thinking that small.  The Turtles we watched give birth on a Caribbean Beach were the size of large tree stumps.  A full-grown Green Turtle can weight over 300 pounds and is large enough for a middle size adult to curl up on in comfort.  So we watched this large bolder give birth to a hundred plus baby turtle eggs and than work its way slowly down the beach back to the ocean.  The guide told us that she would repeat this process every 15 days until around the middle of October, than she would leave her new young to fend for them selves while she traveled the world.  It was really something great to witness.

Howler Monkey getting high on some special pants

Even in the rain there is always some pretty stuff to take pictures of

This little island between the waters was really something good, especially because of their dedication to protecting and preserving the ecosystem around them.  It was good to live in their little paradise for a bit before having to get back on the road of adventure.