Tortuguero is a flagship of ecotourism in Costa Rica – a paradise for nature lovers who want to escape from everyday life. For us, during our holidays in Costa Rica, it’s about showing my little girl the beauty of nature protection in action. At the time, we didn’t know that our experience in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, would finally inspire us to launch Green Global Travel and inexorably change our lives for the better!
THE FAUNA OF TORTUGUERO
My eyes scan the dense thickets of trees bordering the river, looking for signs of movement in the greenery. I close my ears to listen to the unequivocal call of the howler monkeys. Suddenly, the boat stops, turns around and heads straight for the forest to our left. As we get closer, I finally see a brown mass camouflaged by the brush, just at the level of our eyes.
Only when we are within a radius of 20 meters will I realize that this is a three-toed sloth. We are less than 10 meters away before we notice the furry mass on the sloth, and everyone collectively gasps when we discover that it is a mother and a baby feeding on leaves together.
TRAINING IN THE PROTECTION OF NATURE
For an 8-year-old child, expressions such as “deforestation” and “endangered species” appear as abstract concepts. Our public education system ensures that third graders know these terms well enough to define them in a Multiple Choice Test. But nowadays, even supposedly intelligent matures cannot agree on simple scientific principles such as evolution and the source of the carbon pollution that causes climate change.
OUR TORTUGUERO VISITS
Like most hotels in Tortuguero, Mawamba Lodge has also offered a series of tours of Tortuguero National Park, all led by local nature guides.
In the morning we boarded the boat for cruises through the Tortuguero canals to see baby Caimans, shy river otters, toucans, tiger herons and pink spoons up close.
AS WE COME FROM SAN JOSE TO TORTUGUERO
Finding how to get to Tortuguero is not as easy as most destinations. The 5-hour drive from San Jose Airport to Tortuguero National Park is not easy, but it’s worth it. Since Tortuguero is surrounded by water, there are practically no roads in the area. The only way to get there is by boat or plane, which you can reach in the town of Moín, near the port of Limon.