the cheap way to Tortuguero
Friday, December 14th, 2007the city of guapiles sits roughly ½ way between san jose and tortuguero village. I made sure I was at the guapiles bus station by 9:30 am since there are several hops involved in getting to tortuguero the cheap way. first of all, let me explain that tortuguero village (and the national park) can only be reached by plane or boat. I chose the least expensive: on a boat from la pavona (not even on most maps) through the canals that connect banana country to the coast.
It sounds pretty adventurous, but in fact it’s how most locals get in and out and it’s fairly straightforward if you know all the pieces: get to cariari by bus (thru guapiles), get a smaller bus to la pavona, which is basically a dock, a soda and also a guarded parking lot for those leaving a car – I’m told for $10 per day. I got a combo-ticket in cariari that included the shuttle to la pavona and the boat to tortuguero village – a total of 2600 colones or just over $5. One can also get each separately and take the “clic-clic” boat for the same price. Our guide-extraordinaire and inn-keeper in tortuguero, daryl loth, prefers clic-clic, the local tortuguero business.
I swear our boat driver was imitating the canal scene from The Italian Job or has maybe seen too many james bond movies, but the speed-boat thru the canals was something to experience!! very narrow in parts with the jungle looming over-head, I understand that driving fast allows corners to be taken more effectively, but the effect is the same: exciting. Just so you know, the clic-clic boat left at roughly the same time and arrived quite a bit later, so not all drivers attack the canals with equal vigour.
A friend who studied manatees in tortuguero for several years suggested I stay with his friend daryl loth – who owns casa marbella and is an amazing guide and conservationist. A nice guy from the boat who lives in cariari and spends several days a week attending a school in tortuguero specializing in eco-tourism, showed me to casa marbella where shortly I met a nice trio from Vancouver! Now I understand the world of MEC (mountain exhange co-op), canada’s more-devoted version of REI.
Peggy Rehm