Tortuguero is famous for one reason – Turtles. It is a small town on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica only reachable by boat. In this isolated part of the world Turtles partake in one of the planets miracles. It is and will remain a mystery how this feat is achieved over and over again by generations of these majestic animals. What is that feat we can here you asking yourselves? Well, let us tell you. Every year, thousands of female turtles make a pilgrimage to the beaches of Tortuguero to lay their eggs. This doesn’t sound like a miracle, mysterious or impressive in the slightest until you realise one thing. Every turtle that participates in this ritual was once born there, on that very same beach that once grown themselves, returns to to produce their own offspring. How and why this is done is the unknown factor.

Each turtle struggles up the beach to a spot where they then dig down into the sand before depositing a large number of eggs, covering them up and then disappearing back into the sea. Conservationists are on hand to help protect, facilitate and track turtles who make this journey and volunteers every year offer their services as well. Once the baby turtles hatch they scurry into the sea as fast as possible, in constant danger from predatory animals such a birds and local dogs who have picked up on this for an easy meal. Lots make it however, and it is these turtles which will return in years to come to carry on the process.

Unfortunately for us, we had missed the season, just. A month earlier and we would have been able to witness this amazing sight. We arrived after two buses and the boat, having witnessed a huge crocodile, poised at the side of the river, en route. We found a hotel and headed to the beach as we had been told that if lucky we may catch the last few hatchlings making a dash for safety. The seas are rough here and not the usual crisp blue Caribbean waters you may be imagining, so swimming was out of the question.

No longer than an hour of strolling the beach in search of some little friends we b lined to the town. The town itself is not much to be marvelled at. Small, fairly dirty and not very aesthetic is how we would best describe it. We stumbled upon a local football match underway, complete with local cheerleaders – girls of no older than 7, dancing to the drums of a local band waiting for their own practice to begin.

After taking in as much football as Hayley would allow we continued our walk through this small town. Hungry and a bit deflated we found a small hole in the wall which sold brownies and ice cream. To up our spirits we purchased one each and sat by the side of the river to eat them.

The brownies turned out to be the ‘best brownies ever’ as Hayley dubbed them and she returned for another one desperate for her chocolate fix. Little did we know these brownies would now become known as ‘The Brownie’ anytime that Hayley felt the need for something sweet.

We returned to our room, changed and headed out in search of food or a lively looking bar to spend some of our evening. After eating at a small Caribbean/Rasta styled restaurant we browsed the small number of street jewellery stands. As we surveyed our surroundings the heavens well and truly opened and rain cascaded down uncontrollably. We dashed for our hotel and were trapped inside the rest of the night. Saved by Christmas films and chocolate we must add we quite enjoyed it. Along with hours of endless fun on the new snapchat update – Hayley was in her element.

As the Turtle season was over, the town is so small and the beach/weather making sunbathing or swimming a no go we decided to leave the next day rather than stay another night. We packed and caught the boat and buses back to our luxurious pad in San Jose.

Tortuguero had been a disappointment to us but this was mainly due to the time of year we visited. Don’t let us put you off. We are certain that if we had been luckily enough to be there at peak time it would be a different story but you can’t win them all and plan a trip around every little experience you wish to have, it’s simply impossible.

Back in San Jose more steak, beer and Spanish small talk was in order and we enjoyed a final night with Aurora and Alfonso. We were heading down to the Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo the next day to take in some more sun and meet up with friends so we were all in good spirits.

The next morning, after more breakfast, rice and beans (which Hayley had now learnt to say she didn’t like, meaning Jonny was loaded with even more, much to her amusement) and eggs it was time to depart. Aurora, Alfonso and their family had been amazing and we could not thank them enough. San Jose itself was not our favourite destination but staying with this wonderful family had been a great experience and one we thoroughly enjoyed, Not only had we been waited on hand and foot, fed, watered and showered, had our washing done for us and day trips organised we had also picked up on lots more Spanish due to the language barrier. In our best Spanish we bid adiós which brought tears from Aurora and headed off to the bus. If you ever read this we would love to return and visit again, thank you so much, we hope to see you again soon!

Read about our time in Puerto Viejo and what we got up to next..

Jonny & Hayley 🙂