On the Road Again

I'm going to miss my awesomely made bed complete with origami towel animals and designs, but today I'm off to La Fortuna, the town nearest the Arenal Volcano.  I've primarily visited beaches up until now, so this is going to be a very different experience.  My flight from Tortuguero to San Jose is early, so I should be able to arrive in San Jose early enough to catch the 8.40 am bus to La Fortuna.

Adios!

The Tortuguero Experience-Part II

The 3-hour, $15 canoe tour was totally worth it.  I wasn't real sure at first if things would work out well.  I asked the hotel owner about the tour (he had mentioned it) and he said he would call around.  What he really meant was he'd call his cousin and have him talk to me.

Roberto issued my ticket and told me to meet him at 5.45 at the public dock.  I did, and he passed me off to his cousin Ricardo (unsure if they are cousin friends or cousin brothers).  I was a little worried this tour wouldn't happen.

I worried for nothing because by 6am, Ricardo, 4 teenage boys (from England I think), and myself were rowing towards the National Park canals.

These teenage boys deserve special mention.  They were completely useless and never realized it.  They played with the paddles patting them against the water and they stuck the paddles in the water to create resistance (unwanted resistance).  The one at the front of the canoe decided he wanted to lie down on the boat (or recline as much as possible) which resulted in the boat almost capsizing multiple times.  While very annoyed that they wouldn't paddle (complaining of aching shoulders after 3 strokes and tentatively dipping the paddle in the water every once in a while and leaving the work to myself and the guide), I was amused by their conversation.  At one point, they were discussing shaving - 1 of them only had a bit of peach fuzz and 7 or 8 unruly hairs.  I wanted to laugh at this "manly" conversation about how they look with and without facial hair and how often they shave.

The tour itself (if I can possibly separate the tour from the moronic boys) was quite good and informative.  We saw several birds, caimans, the bluejean frog, and some monkeys - not too shabby for 3 hours and $15.  I wouldn't have been able to see these things on my own, and I'm not sure I could have seen them in the park either.

I returned from my tour at around 9am.  Later in the day (around 11 or so) I went back to the National Park, but this time I walked.  I was forced to rent absurd rainboots for $1.  They were absurd because it hadn't rained in awhile and at the end of my hike, they were dusty, not muddy.  Additionally, they were painful and rubbed the skin off my feet in several spots (it's hard to do anything about that when I'm a couple of kilometers away from the park entrance and my regular shoes that I had left as collateral).

I had meant to go to the beach after the park, but I wasn't feeling well (I haven't been eating well, especially not here since food is more expensive and there are fewer choices).

Today, however, I did go to the beach and hang out awhile (from something like 6-8am) and then I rested (not sure if I slept or not) and then I went back to the beach for another couple of hours.  Ahh!  This is the life.

And tomorrow, sadly, I must fly back to San Jose and take the afternoon bus to Montezuma.

The Tortuguero Experience-Part I

Yesterday morning, I was on the insanely early flight to Tortuguero (5.50am).  During landing, I could see the length of Tortuguero Island.  I was able to look out the front airplane window.  I watched waves lapping on the right side of the island and could see lagoon on the left side.

This plane, like the one I took to Panama, also carried 7 people.

The airport dock. You may be able to see boats at the end of the sidewalk.

I arrived before 6.30 and was met by a water taxi my hotel had sent.  I didn't find a conventional hostel on Tortuguero, but what I found was really great.  I stayed at the El Icaco Hotel in a private room with a private bathroom.  The hotel owner met me at the dock and showed me to the beach side of the island to where the hotel was located.  Aside from the loneliness this sort of situation results in, I needed the break from the hostel environment.

Hotel El Icaco

Honestly, my hostel experiences haven't been too bad - I've even ended up with the dorm room to myself more than once.  But even so, there is little privacy afforded in a dorm room.  I finally had some semblance of privacy at this hotel (although every sound I made was heard outside; there was no glass in the windows, only screen.

I returned to my hotel room today around 9am to find this lovely
swan.  How awesome is it that I get my very own swan made
out of my towels and bedsheet?

I settled in at the hotel and then headed to the beach (all of 20 feet away).  I spent the morning on the beach, walked around town for a few minutes (which is all it really takes), showered, took a 4-hour nap, and then went back to the beach in the evening.  Pretty much a perfect beach day.  The weather was great as well; there was no rain in sight.

The lovely and clean Tortuguero beach.  I actually found a
a large number of small whole sand dollars along this beach.
I picked some up, but they are so fragile and break so easily
that I'm afraid that few will survive, if any.

Today too I spent at the beach and napping in the warm cool of my fan in my hotel room.  The sun gets so hot here and there are no shade trees at the beach.  I can't possibly stay out as long here as I did in Panama or even in Montezuma.  It's so amazing that it's completely light outside around 5am and I can go to the beach and lie on the sand and read while it's still cool outside and while the fishermen stand around up and down the shore hoping to catch something.

Tomorrow I'm going to go on an early (5.45am) canoe tour of the Tortuguero National Park canals.  I'm excited to go on the tour; I'm expecting to see a lot of wildlife.