Turtles!!

Lets talk about turtles!

This weekend I traveled with the ecotourism class to Tortuguero. When you think about baby sea turtles, this is the place that probably pops into your mind. But before I continue, I have to say, unfortunately, we were not there during the right time and missed out on seeing the little ones scurry to the ocean. 

I’ll start with Thursday. I spent the day doing homework (and many some Pinterest J ) and emailing my mom. She is coming down in March/April so we are working on figuring out what we want to do. On Thursday night, all the girls met at the bus stop in San Joaquin and went to the mall, El Paseo de las Flores. A free mini-concert was being held, and most of us needed to see it for a music report we had to write. The singer, Xiomara, was wonderful! She is about 4’10”, but her voice is huge! I found out later that she won the Costa Rican version of The Voice. After the concert, we hung out in Heredia for an hour, then those of us heading to Tortuguero, a.k.a. Turtleville, headed home for a good nights sleep.

We all woke up on Friday and met our driver and Ana, our administrator/principle/mom/secretary at the institute at 7:00am. Taking the back roads, we traveled through Heredia and picked up the ecotourism teacher. It was my first time meeting her, and she was really nice! I felt bad because I had taken Dramamine for motion sickness, so I slept most of the way. However, I was awake when we crossed the mountains out of the central valley. They are truly rainforest, and it rained slightly on our way out, which is normal. It is always strange to me how the central valley can be relatively dry, yet the mountains that surround it always have fog and drizzly weather.

We made our way to the area where boats will ferry people to Tortuguero. Tortuguero has no roads, and the only way in and out is by boat. Lets just say, for the first time in Costa Rica, I matched everyone around me – white skin, light hair, and big backpacks. Since we arrived on Friday morning, there were many other tourists, scientists, and students waiting to catch the boats. We didn’t have to wait long – Ana had already reserved a boat for us, so we only had to wait 20 minutes for the other half of the boat to show up.

A little warning here – if the following paragraph describes you, I am sorry, and try to not take offense.

There, that’s my warning. The other half of the boat was full of stereotypical GRINGOS!! Now, I know, I am a gringo. It’s my hair, my eyes, my skin – but there is a difference between being a gringo and acting like one. This group was full of high school students and two chaperones. One chaperone would not quit talking, even though she had lost her voice before the trip. The others were constantly talking and not enjoying the peaceful river or looking for animals. Our driver, Manuel, said something to our group in Spanish. One girl yells from the back, “We don’t understand Spanish! Can you speak English??” in the whitest, blonde girl voice I have heard in a long time. When a Tico speaks, and its not directed directly at you, it might be a good idea to try to act like you understand. My group and I talked in Spanish, just because we were so fed up with their actions and it was good practice for us. I know we are all tourists, or extranjeros, en Costa Rica, but when your own countrymen think you are obnoxious, you know the locals are rolling their eyes at you. The 40-minute boat ride finally ended, and it was wonderful to get some space and put ourselves fully back into the Tico frame of mind.  Pura vida 

After eating lunch at our hotel, Vista al Mar, we got on a smaller boat and set out for the Turtle Conservatory Center. The other students passed out surveys to students as part of their class, so I had time to look around. A path led from the center to the town, so we headed down that way. The town of Tortuguero is truly a one-street town. The spit of land is not wide enough to have it any way else! I had plenty of time to shop around and enjoy the view. I found a cute, family run store and I bought a keychain and a piggybank made from a coconut. On our way back to the hotel, I stopped and grabbed a smoothie for 1000 colones, or 2 dollars. It was pineapple, mango, papaya, and it was delicious! I have been so lucky getting to be in a place where the fruit is readily available.

After riding around the river and seeing birds, monkeys, and a few adult turtles, we arrived back to the hotel. I used the Wifi to call my mom and email people, then headed to dinner.

Friday was valentines day, and I have to say, for being half a world away, I managed to have a good one. My boyfriend had sent me a package earlier that week, so I got to eat my chocolate and read his card on the beach in the moonlight. The beach was so calm and serene with the waves and the full moon. It was wonderful to sit and be able to think with no cars or people.

Saturday rolled around! We headed to Tortugeuro National Park and learned more about the conservation process. After, we had a few hours free-time, then boarded the boat to return home. The drive from Tortuguero to Heredia lasts about 3.5 hours, and this time I was awake to see the country. Its amazing how many small towns there are, and there is really no wide open spaces. That’s one thing that’s been different. The idea of “rural” here is not the same as mine. I think of cattle-ranches, or the Palouse at home, and there is just not that much space here. Its been interesting adjusting to that.

On Sunday, I went to mass at 9am, then came back and worked on homework. Monica and Angelica had gone to a party, so the house was very calm with only Flor and I. We watched Letters to Juliet in Spanish. I was very glad I could take it easy on Sunday and get ready for the week, including prepping for the English class I help teach on Mondays.

Have a good rest of the week!