What did we do?
Day 8 - We arrived at La Pavona, the jumping off point for the boat to Tortuguero, around 2:30 pm(2.5 hour driving trip from Sarapiqui). We used the Waze app to guide us from Sarapiqui, but here is a link to some excellent written instructions if you are driving without GPS navigation. The road is now paved the entire way, and there are good signs along the road directing you to Tortuguero.
Once you reach La Pavona there is a secure parking spot, and we paid $10 a day to park. Many of the parking spots are covered, but there were none left by the time we arrived. Be warned, as soon as you step out of your car several people may approach you selling boat tickets at varying prices as there seems to be public ferries and private ferries, it was a little unclear to me exactly what was being sold.
We declined their offers and walked over to the covered restaurant area and spoke to a few vendors before purchasing a ticket for the public boat scheduled to leave at 4:00 pm, but ended up leaving at 3:30 pm. The rates were a little higher than normal because the river was quite low due to lack of rain. The cost was about $18 return per person. I think it would have been fine to book on a private boat, but I wouldn't purchase a ticket until you identify which boat you are taking. Some boats looked better than others. That being said, manage your expectations; none of the boats are great. On our return trip to La Pavona I was seated at the back of the boat, just a foot away from a semi-open plastic gasoline container that was fuelling our outboard motor through a hose connecting the two.
We arrived at the ferry dock in Tortuguero village about an hour later, walked 200 metres down the main road to Casa Marbella and checked into our room. The next hour was spent sitting on our verandah enjoying the sunset over the river and listening to the raucous calls of nearby howler monkeys.
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| View from our veranda at Casa Marbella |
Day 9 - We started the day at 5:45 am with a 3-hour guided boat tour ($20 per person) through the canals of Tortuguero National Park. We had booked this through our hotel and our guide, Victor, was excellent. On top of the $20 tour you also have to pay a $15 entrance fee per person to the National Park. This entrance fee is good for the whole day, so make sure you save your ticket.
We saw so much wildlife including: birds, toucans, caimans, iguanas, basilisk lizards, spider, howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys, and sloths.
After lunch we returned to the park (entrance at the south end of the village) and spent a few hours walking the trail to marker 60, before turning back. The trail parallels the beach and at each marker there is a beach entrance. We saw an anteater, a deer, spider and howler monkeys, a yellow eyelash pit viper and a dead leatherback turtle on the beach that we had been told was killed by a jaguar.
Just before dusk we used the free canoe from Casa Marbella for a sunset paddle along the south-west edge of the park. Watching the spider monkey playing in the trees above us while we paddled along was a perfect end to a perfect day.
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| View in the park |
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| The beach at Tortuguero |
The Anteater
Canoeing through the canals at Tortugero
While guides are definitely better at spotting wildlife than we are, the disadvantage when on a guided tour is you are on someone else's timeline. Having our own canoe meant we were free go at our own pace. When we spotted a group of six baby Caiman's in the muddy bank we were able to just sit and watch them, with no one else around. Being in a canoe also enabled us to venture up some of the smaller, shallower canals that most of the larger boats couldn't access.
Wanting to take full advantage of our park day pass we returned to the park in the afternoon to walk the trails and were fortunate enough to see the anteater again. As we entered back into the village the wild almond tree, behind the main ferry dock, was full of clattering green macaws.
We got very lucky with the weather in Tortuguero. On both of our full days there we had lots of sunshine and no rain. This was especially nice for walking the park trails as I read they can get really muddy.
Day 11 - This day was taken up mostly with travelling from Tortuguero to Punta Uva in the Southern Caribbean; a total trip of about 6.5 hours including the ferry ride. I had read lots of different information about ferry schedules back to La Pavona, the information here seemed most accurate, but check at the ferry dock if you are looking to travel outside the posted schedule. The trip back to La Pavona took over two hours, it rained lightly on and off, but we did get to see two crocodiles along the banks, and several iguanas.
Where did we stay?
We stayed at Casa Marbella ($80 per night) located in the village right on the river. We had the superior room upstairs with a verandah overlooking the river. The room looked very newly renovated and we were quite pleased with it. There is no AC here, but we found the standing fans worked quite well for keeping us cool at night. Breakfast is served on the covered riverside deck each morning. The staff here are friendly and very helpful.
Where did we eat?
Breakfast is included at Casa Marbella, and served on the covered deck sitting on the edge of the river. One of the best breakfast settings ever, and the food was decent as well.
The best restaurant (and also the most expensive) we ate at in Tortuguero was the Buddha Cafe ($60 dinner for 3). The food was quite good here, and it is a nice setting right on the river. I suggest people choose to sit on the left side of the restaurant as the right side offers unobstructed views into an unsavoury looking boat garage. We also ate at Donde Richard, and Mi Nino which were ok, but not memorable. We had some very good smoothies at a small restaurant just a couple of doors north of Casa Marbella, it has big colourful signs advertising milkshakes, and is packed with locals in the evening.
Next: Days 11-14 Punta Uva and the Southern Caribbean
Next: Days 11-14 Punta Uva and the Southern Caribbean
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