TORTUGAS!!!

that's turtles for you non Spanish speakers. With a 4 day break from school, Katie, Cristina, and I capitalized on a Nature Air flight special and flew to Tortuguero, a little village only accessible by boat or plane. The plane ride was awesome!!! It was a little 19 seater plane, and the view was amazing. We flew along the ocean and over miles of solid forest with only a few canals running through it.



The first night, we went on a turtle tour! The beach in Tortuguero is mostly national park, and it is closed during the turtle nesting season to protect them. In order to fund these protection efforts, they offer tours to see the egg laying process in a non-harmful and sustainable manner. So, we had to reserve a spot, and then we went on the beach at night and saw heaps of turtles coming out of the ocean. We got to walk right up behind one that was laying its eggs and watch the eggs drop into the freshly dug hole. Then we watched the turtle cover the eggs, move to a spot right next to the nest, dig a fake nest to deter predators, and then eventually waddle back to the sea and disappear into the ocean. It was AMAZING!

The second day we went on a canal tour. The park is all tropical jungle, with canals as the only means of exploration. So we got in a canoe with a local guide, and spent 3 hours paddling through the canals checking out the wildlife.



We saw 3 species of monkeys, iguanas, Jesus Christ lizards (the ones that walk on water!), heaps of birds, and crocodiles! This little one, called a Cayman, is peaking its head out of the bushes!!



So when we weren't on a tour, we were napping in our room, swimming in the sea (which we later found out isn't safe due to a high prevalence of sharks and crocodiles..oops), eating, and scoping out the town! It was Costa Rican independence day, so there were parades and celebrations happening around the country. The ticos light a torch the week before Independence day, and begin passing the flame through every city and village in CR. They flame gets split, but the idea is for the same spirit to reach every village. On Saturday night, it came by boat to Tortuguero and we watched it arrive while chilling on the canal with some locals. Later, we took a boat up to a bar right at the mouth of the canal. So we were looking over the ocean and hanging out with real drunk tico men. Kinda sketchy, but good Spanish practice! More pics are up.



This week, it's back to the books. Today was my first day of Forestry, Forests, and Poverty...the class where I will be spending the majority of the next few weeks. Lots of field trips and crazy UPeace learning experiences to come!!!