Tortuguero
Tortuguero National Park is located in the north-east of Costa Rica and is one of the main tourist icons of the country.
It is world famous for protecting the largest breeding range of green turtles in the western hemisphere.
Far from the city, access is only possible in small boats
The park is home to an incredible biological variety thanks to its plant diversity: rainforest, marshes, beaches and lagoons. It enjoys a humid tropical climate.
Quiet night and wake up at 5 am for a departure at 6 am....
We board in a lancha and sail up the river for 1 hour to reach the village.
The mist rises and disappears to give way to the sun. We are witnessing a spendide show.
Upon our arrival we are awaited by our guide "Mona".
We have booked a canoe tour ....
Our favorite one .
"Mona" is an extraordinary guide who speaks slowly, which suits us well, and which makes us share his passion.
He’s got a sharp eye .... To the rhythm of his paddles we go into the lagoon to discover the fauna that coexists there.
Crocodiles, caimans, lizards "Jesus Christ" or green basil, boa constrictor and a multitude of birds.
3 hours of wonder under a blazing sun.
Before the lunch break, we hike in the park ( not really ineresting).
We return in the early afternoon and decide to stay there for the night.
Parrita / Tortuguero
We cross Costa Rica from west to east by the only highway and national roads.
We have to cross the capital city, not without difficulties, to take the national road that joins the only industrial port of the country.
A winding road that climbs up to 2,000 m in altitude ! A line of trucks blowing and spitting up the climb and driving at a snail speed in the descent makes the driving pretty tough!!
We arrive at "La Paloma" : mini pier on the river to"Tortuguero".
We sit in the guarded parking lot and take informations to visit the Park.
Christophe negotiates our excursion and spends more than 1 hour to register and pay online the entrance tickets of the Park ....
Parrita
Departure for the Caribbean coast.
On the road we dump the camper that needs it.
It’s getting late and we decide to stop on the beautiful beach of Parrita
Quiet night under pouring rain.
Corcovado
The " Parque Nacional de Corcovado " is one of the largest nature reserves in Costa Rica.
Located on the Osa Peninsula, it counts 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity.
Created in 1975 to protect the region’s ecosystems, it lays over 450 km2 : rainforest fringed by beautiful beaches.
A real garden of Eden, the specialists who work there have recorded no less than 5,500 species of insects, 2,418 species of plants, 700 species of trees, 150 species of mammals, 367 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles and 40 species of freshwater fishes.
We wake up at 4:30 for a departure at 5:30 AM ... Fortunately we camp 600 meters awayfrom the pier, where we are joined by our guide
The weather is grey and cloudy ... and i twill be so for the whole day.
To land, we change shoes and raise the bottom of our jeans to wade in the water on slippery rocks to the rhythm of the waves crashing on the beach ... We are soaked!!!
Our guide makes us discover this park during 4 h 30.
We see, among others: a Tapir family, squirrel monkeys, crocodiles and birds.
After a lunch break at the restaurant we return to the campsite.
The site is beautiful and we have seen some iconic specimens of this park, but we consider that the amount claimed is exorbitant and does not correspond to our expectation.
Dinner at the restaurant by the ocean under the coconut trees
Corcovado
It’s time to keep going.
We drive down close to the border of Panama and drive through Uvita where we stayed almost three months last year ... Short stop for refueling and for a photo souvenir.
We reach the campsite in Puerto Jimenez, one of the starting points to visit the Corcovado National Park.
We settle down quietly and Christophe leaves in search of information to organize our visit.
Almost all shops, tourist agencies and information offices are closed ... Very few travellers in this pandemic time !
To visit the park : two solutions:
* either take a bus that reaches the small village of Carate in 2 hours on an unpaved road, then 1 hour walk to reach the entrance of the park and finally a 4-hours hike .... With a mandatory guide.
* either take a lancha (small boat) to reach Sirena in 1 hour 30 where one disembarks on a beach without pontoon, and hike of 4 hours 30 ... With a mandatory guide.
Whatever option you choose, the cost for two is 300 USD!!!
We hesitate ... We came here to visit one of the most famous parks ... We opted for the second solution .
Fill will be our guide, but boats don’t leave everyday ... The next one is on Thursday!!
Meanwhile we rest at the campsite.
We are surrounded by several multicoloured Scarlet macaws and we sit several times a day watching their show ... But what a noise ... Deafening at 6 o'clock in the morning !!!
ROAD BOOK 096
MAVROS ODYSSEE