Tortugas Monkeys and Local Magic

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The day was kinda intense... got up at 4:30, I thought I am not capable of that, but I guess I am. It was still dark out and mosquitoes were vicious. 3 hour boat ride back . Saw a huge crocodile this time!

The bus for Guapilies was leaving at 9:30, so we had breakfast in the fanciest hotel in town which would've been a basic place in a more turisty area.

1:30 h bus ride folowed by a bus ride to Cariari, folowed by a bus ride to La Pavona. Followed by a 15 min walk (because there was not enough water in the chanell)

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Followed by 1 hour boat ride. So 2 boat rides and 3 buses in one day. Took the last room at Miss Junnie's hotel.

Tortuguero (turtle place) is most magic place I've ever seen. It's hard to get here (unless you fly in with all inclusive tour) But it's worth every minute spent in the hot stinky bus.

There is no roads that go there, the only way in is by boat or plane. It's quiet and very Caribbean. Rastafarian culture is strong there, and the vibe is so mellow.

We decided to stay 3 days there. It was too good to leave. We walked to the beach and Russ made a jock about us taking a week to get to the see on our tropical vacation.

There was no water in the channel so we had to walk for 15 min to meet the boat
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The amount of wildlife we saw in 3 days exceeds the amount of wildlife I saw my whole life, I think. We took a guided canoe tour with this 80 year old guy, Billy. He is in better shape at 80 than me at 30... that's sad (for me).

We made freinds with Domas, a guy from Barcelona and his 8 year old doughter Cloudia. They didn't speak any english, our spanish is bad, so we ended up talking French, which made a total mess in my head. For a week I tried hard to think only about Spanish, and having to speak French all of the sudden just felt like I am in Babel. And Claudia and Russ don't know French, so both of us had to translate... god it was complicated. But now we are invited to Barcelona.

our captan had a huge afro!
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Went for a hike at the ancient volcano Cerro Tortuguero. Saw a capuchin monkey and red poison dart frogs, huge bees that eat other insects, enormous spiders, and probably somrthing else.

At the top of the mountain there is a trail with almost vertical cliffs on both side, so it's like walking on a very narrow bridge. Domas and Claudia slipped and felt down. It was so freaking terrifying! the way down is very long and they would've get killed for sure, but he grabbed to some jungle vegetation and she grabbed to him (I think) And Ivan(our guide) and Russ pulled them up pretty quick. Claudia was shaiking and crying, but Domas seemed pretty excited for a person that just almost died. He called it "Avantura Total" -- that it was... Claudia is such a good kid, we showed her a cool butterfly and she was happy again. I did held her hand all the way down tho'. The main reason it happened, I think is because they didn't have proper shoes. She had sneakers and he had sandals... You don't hike in sandals in the jungle, that's for sure.

Olga + Olga + Cloudia. There is lot's of Olgas in Costa Rica. One of them was working in the kitchen of Miss Junnie's restarant. She is super cool! So we hugged a lot and took many pictures together.
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At night we went to see tortugas (turtles) lay eggs. They are so huge and it's amazing how they can dig such a dip hole with their not very flexible legs. they are protected in Costa Rica, but their numbers worldwide decline. All sorts of stuff (including humans) gets them and the eggs.

If I had only one week in Costa Rica I would totally go to Tortuguero. I started missing it before we even left. And I totally want to go back. Billy says he has 3 day in the jungle surviving trip. We have to come back while he is still alive. We think he use be a hunter before he became a wildlife guide; his ability to see and sneak on animals is just above natural.