San Jose and Tortuguero

Flight from Amsterdam to San José, 17 september
We wake up near Schiphol and through the opened balcony door the sounds of over flying airplanes bring us already in a vacation mood. This year we decided to stay the night before the flight at the van der Valk hotel near Schiphol. In the morning a shuttle bus will take us to the airport, our car stays behind.
This way our vacation has a very relaxing start and that sure is susceptible to repetition.
Because of last years attacks you have to be at the airport at least three hours before the flight leaves. We doubt if that is really necessary, because we now have plenty of time.

During take off we remain talking to each other as I have learned at VALK. At a wobble I feel my heart search its way to my throat for a moment, but that is it. I now know that an airplane only changes its rising angle and that my feeling for equilibrate is fooling me. This therapy against fear of flying is its decent price more than worth.
After twelve years I now fly without fear and I can still hardly believe that. But where should I now occupy myself with during the flight? I do worry a bit about the off chance of a thunderstorm over San Jose but as I learned I ask my self the question: "Are you in danger now?"

I am going to try to fool my jetlag and take a sleeping pill because at this moment it is night in Costa Rica, and thus I have to sleep. Slumbering I spend the hours to Miami. It procures me far from a fresh and rested feeling but all the hours I spend in unconscious condition are anyway much gained.

And than Miami. During the landing I enjoy the view instead of picturing me vividly how I will soon die in a horribly manner. We don't have to worry about how we will spend those two hours that we have to wait at Miami airport. The bureaucracy of the American immigration office sees to such a claim on our spare time that an American passenger shouts out of frustration: “This is worst than Goddamn Russia.”
All the transit passengers have to follow a firm lady with sign: “This way please, no, not that way.” Than we all have to wait in line in front of a customs booth. Our passports are extensively checked and stamped, what seems to last forever. Afterwards we have to walk around the booth and together in goose step behind the stout lady, back into the plane.

The sun is shining its last beams when San José comes within sight. We see a jungle river running through the mountains and than nothing. Rain clouds block our view.
Of course we are the last to leave with our luggage. How do we manage that always? For the first time in our lives we are being picked up at the airport. Indeed there is a lady holding up a sign with our name who escorts us to a van with driver. He brings us through a now dark, wet and chaotic San José to hotel Britannia. The length of the ride and the criss-cross-standard of the route makes that we are glad with this transfer.

The beauty of the hotel premises is lost in our jetlag. Our entire body screams that it is morning but the clock tells us something different. We decide to challenge our body and go eat. Darn, they put fresh coriander in the spaghetti here. I was not hungry and now I can't even eat it since I developed a huge resistance against fresh coriander, five years ago in Mexico. I can't eat one bite of it. I don't know where to hide for shame against the waiter. We already are the only guests and now we attract even more attention.

At 8.00 PM we fall into a coma. Luckily we went to bed first.
An hour later we start from our sleep by the ringing telephone. First we think we dream because who would call us here? It appears to be the very friendly and helpful, Tico representative of the organization where we booked our Tortuguero tour. He asks if the airport transfer was to our satisfaction. And if we have questions. He is very friendly but right now I would like to get rid of him.

From San José to Tortuguero, 18 september
Good morning, it is 4.30! As far as there are guests, they're still asleep. What now? Let's take a shower, but how long can you protract that?

We still have no Colonne or Dollar so we go walk about in search for an ATM. In the meantime the sun has woken too and the first people arrive on the street on their way to work. This way we also get a bit accustom to Costa Rica. It is not western but also hasn't a downright other atmosphere.

After all the traveling we by now know the feeling of the first day in another culture, but it still is an odd feeling. Everytime again it is a remarkable idea that yesterday you were at Schiphol and now half a world further.

We will be picked up at 7.00 and after that have breakfast somewhere. But breakfast is also included in the price of the room so at 6.00 we decide to have breakfast here to begin with to kill time. Breakfast consists of toast and jam and I don't like that very much. But thank God for the small tubs of pâté of Unox. How extremely Dutch…

For the first three days we have, entirely contrary to what we're used to, booked a full-inclusive tour to Tortuguero National Park. Tortuguero can only be visited with a guide so we made reservations on forehand through a Dutch tour operator. This way we can become acclimatized, before we pick up our rental car.

We leave most of our luggage at the hotel reception and wait for the van that arrives exactly on time. Three people sit in the van: a Mr. and Mrs. Martinez of about 60, from Spain and Dino, our guide. When we get in, the group is complete, no-one else will join.
Mr. and Mrs. Martinez don't speak one word English and we don't speak Spanish so that will be interesting the next couple of days..

The five of us set out for the Mawamba lodge. On the way we stop at a restaurant for a really good breakfast. Interesting: black beans with spiced rice, lots of fruit and juices and of course toast and jam.

After we passed by the banana plantation Carmen 1, the driving passes to rocking and after an hour we arrive at a landing-stage for lodge-boats.
All the lodges around Tortuguero National Park have their own boats to transport their guests. Porters haul with luggage. How luxury! But we of course keep scrupulous an eye at ours.

A little later we sail over the river in our little group. We see monkeys and an otter. After a bend in the river suddenly a sloth comes inside. It whirls over the river at a liana. At the sight of this typical South-American animal we stop thinking of home and realize at once where we are. The river starts getting Amazon-airs and the enormous enjoyment sets in.

After an hour and a half we arrive at the lodges landing-state and a belle young woman awaits us with coconut drinks. We get time to fresh up and feel more and more decadent.
At first sight the room doesn't appear that special but that chances the longer you sojourn here. The windows of sleeping- and bathroom have just wire-blinds and no glass. Because of the climate most of the walkways and terraces are covered with a thatched roof. And on the mere places where this is not the case, umbrellas are provided. Moreover as a guest you can borrow rubber boots and more and more of this.
We don't have to think here, just to eat the delicious buffets with the best fruit juices and follow Dino whenever it's time for another excursion. For a couple of days this pleases us, unexpectedly, outstanding.

Late in the afternoon Dino takes us to Tortuguero village and we walk back along the beach. We see dug up turtles nests with eggs. They have a surprisingly soft shell.
Than the sky gets as dark as we have seldom seen. Dino goes on and on about the sea turtles but we worry about what might come and what that will do to our cameras.
Thankfully we arrive just in time at our room before a huge thunderstorm breaks out.

After dinner we go to bed for a little while and Dino wakes us up in time to go for our night excursion to the beach.
It is full moon and that is not so favorable. Turtles like to do it in the dark. Our turtle guide is a young girl from Tortuguero village. The inhabitants are involved in the turtle tourism and protection, to give them insight in the importance of protecting these very threatened animals. This seems to have good results.
The girl visibly enjoys looking for egg-laying turtles. She finds some for us and lights them with a red torch. At one of these impressive ladies we stay and watch until she returns to sea. We go through nice moments from the circle of life. At midnight we dive into our beds as if we were turtle eggs and dream of the turtles that crawl from the sea so very close to our room.

In Tortuguero, 19 september
Again good morning! And again five o'clock! The rising sun shines through the chinks in the shutters and we still have one hour before the boat is ready for us.

We walk to the beach and see a lot of fresh tracks of turtles. Due to our experiences of last night we know what we see. An accidental passer-by would swear that tractors drove over the beach. We can see exactly which turtles made a nest and which returned to sea without having attained their end.

At six o'clock our boat with steersman awaits us for a tour over the canals of Tortuguero. The animals are best seen in the awakening rainforest. But that is yet a bit disappointing. We hear more than we see and the thick foliage hides much. We have to forget about the vastness of the African landscape of our previous vacation and learn to appreciate the more rare encounters with the usually shy animals in the concealing jungle. Dino calls all the animal names in Spanish and English. He sounds like a living Spanish-English and English-Spanish dictionary of animal names. We see three species of monkey, some lizards and so much different birds that we cannot remember them all. Maybe we can possibly detect what we saw on the video.

After the delicious breakfast of freshly baked omelettes, black beans and rice, the two of us walk around the specially laid out butterfly garden. We see a lot of nice butterflies but miss the bright blue morpho. We also see a lot of lizards. For the first time we get acquainted with the horror of mosquitoes in the rainforest in the rainy season.

During a meal Dino tries his best to translate the conversation between the family Martinez and us about why they take malaria pills and we don't.

At about 3 o'clock we go in a boat to a part of the rainforest where we're going to make a walk. Dino is in search for the toucan which he hears but can't find. He walks faster and faster over the narrow paths that he has to broaden using a machete. We try to follow him as well as we can and have to climb over fallen trees and crawl underneath branches.
Mrs. Martinez walks through the jungle on shoes finished with gold-wire, stainless white pants, glossy T-shirt, lace shawl and golden jewellery. If I would have used make-up it would have dripped in my shoes a long while ago, but hears is still beautifully on her face. How does she do that?

To increase the contrast, Hans and I both sink till the crotch in the same mud where Mrs. Martinez has just floated over. Hans makes an attempt to pull me out and almost tears me to peaces by which I imitate a howler monkey. We are very lucky that our cameras didn't suffer from our antics.

But after all we did see two blue jeans dart frogs. At the end of the walk there is another boat ready to take us back to the lodge. It is all very good taken care of here. The boat sails along a spot where fresh water turtles and caymans live. Dino scatters cookies in the water, and they appear.
Instantly a pouring rain starts over our open boat, but this also is anticipated by the Mawamba lodge. Rain coats with logo are handed out very quickly. At night we consider to go to the beach in secret which is strictly forbidden without a guide, but we are to tired (and to chicken). Besides we don't exactly want to disturb the turtles.

From Tortuguero to San José, 20 september
Today our stay in Tortuguero comes to an end. With all our might we try to look for the beautiful red eyed tree frogs. These are bred by the pool and than put in the wild but we see none. Not even with the information brochure that lies on our pedestal cupboard.

Last night there was one at the lamp next to our door. Unfortunately we didn't recognize it as a red eyed tree frog. It looked like an ordinary tree frog but later we learned that its beautiful colors are only seen at movement.

We make the trip back to San Jose in the opposite direction: first by boat, than by bus. We have to make a detour because a landslide has washed away part of the road. Well that looks promising!

In the afternoon we are back again at hotel Britannia. We inspect our luggage that stayed behind and go into town.
We ask ourselves if we should take a taxi and turn to the receptionist. He friendly hands out a small map and says that we better walk. We appear to be in the center! We hadn't noticed that at all.

With respect to other Central-American cities San Jose is relatively clean. But very much cars, busses and trucks tear along town spreading dark clouds of exhaust gases. Sometimes we even walk with our hand on our mouth. For us there is nothing to do here. There are shops that have no business for us. The inventory seems pretty droll to us. The roads are in American pattern with streets and avenues. A lot of street-signs are absent so half the time we have no idea where we are.

Next: The Arenal