Torteguero to San Jose

Jan.29-31, 2004-Tropical Venice
(photos:Our cabin,
Classroom)

To start at the end, I want to say that I consider our trip to Costa Rica a success. My goal was not to see any snakes & I succeeded. Here they call them vipers. It sounds so much more sinister.

The trek to Torteguero consisted of a 1 1/2 hour ride to breakfast, another 1 1/2 hours to a boat, & a 2 hour boat ride to the Pachira Lodge. The guide, Julio, provided narration the entire trip making it hard to doze, but it did serve as white noise during which I slept. As it turned out he was excellent & knowledgeable when I tuned in.

We entered Torteguero National Reserve by way of a river & semi-natural canals. Semi-natural means that the original small rivers are constantly being dredged to allow larger boats to pass. It’s like a primitive Venice. The society is totally reliant on waterways for transportation. We passed the mouth of the river where it joins the Caribbean Sea & could see waves rolling in the distance. Although we didn't make an effort to spot wildlife as we sped to the hotel, we did see cayman, turtles, heron, pelicans, & crocodiles. The water level was low & we did get stuck. The "captain" had to un-mire the engine from the weeds at one point. I thought he might have to dive into the water to do it, but he was able to do it from the boat.

There were twenty-four tourists in our group & all were very considerate. We were from different countries. The narration was in English & Spanish only. Everyone was polite & quiet when the other language was being used to explain things. A tourist from Italy was fluent in German, Spanish, French, English, & Italian. He helped translate for those whose English was rusty.

Lodging

We were wait-listed for the Pachira Lodge & I think they’d just finished building our room. Our closet was incomplete & they were still roofing the bridge to our section. The Lodge is built into the jungle. Each building houses four guest rooms. The cabins are constructed primarily of wood, are on stilts sunk into mud, & are connected by a series of thatch-covered bridges & walkways also on stilts sunk into mud. The operational words are stilts & mud. The name of the game was staying out of the mud. It pours every day. Luckily for us it rained at night. The lodge is prepared for rain & provides sturdy ponchos, high rubber boots, & golf umbrellas when needed. Rooms have cross ventilation & ceiling fans but no A/C. There's no concern about opening windows since there are only screens. The walls between the rooms reach almost to the ceiling. It wouldn’t be a good place for a honeymoon. On the other hand it’s spectacularly beautiful. The landscaping is lush & butterflies abound. Monkey & sloth sightings are frequent as well as the occasional toad in the swimming pool & iguana on the path. There’s a common dining hall, bar, & pavilion that follow the style of the rest of the buildings. These are all on the canal. We were lulled to sleep by the sound of the Caribbean located on the other side of a narrow strip of land beyond the canal.

We floated across the canal to the town of Torteguero. It exists only to support the tourist trade. It’s ramshackle & littered. What passes for a high school has a leaky roof, moldy books, & bars on the unscreened/unglazed windows. The colorful houses in green, turquoise, yellow, & coral punctuate the squalor.

Toby