t o r t u g u e r o

Just got settled in to our research center in Tortuguero, after over 6 hours travelling in 2 different public buses to Cariari, and a boat that took us from Pavola to Tortuguero.

I am intrigued by the complete absence of cars in this town ~ thus no paved road ~ thus a reaaaaal struggle lugging my 2 overpacked duffle bags into the research center; i was a site to gawk & sympathetically laugh at haha.  (turns our im staying 1/2 the time as everyone else and packed twice as much!  and the weather is teaching me this is nooo place for 1/2 my items haha) grr.

Tortuguero is a small toursity village that provides tourists with an eco-tooth a chance to savour in-person the wonders of sea turtle nesting, as over thousands of turtle nests are layed in this 8 mile natural reserve.

it is accessible only by boat (or mini flights) thru one of the back rivers, which requires savy conductors, swerving tree trunks and crocodiles (we saw 2 today!).  I felt like i was on the amazon ride in disney, however no one told us "permanece sentados por favor" (i keep pairing experiences with fake ones when it should be the other way around! kudos to Disney).  Saw a banana plantation and the intricate process of ropes and cables the farmers use to pull in these nicely wrapped in blue plantains.  visibly a hardcore job.  also heard that the life expectancy of a plantain farmer is very short due too the pesticides and snake bites.

aaaaand the vegetation is sooo lush and gorgeous it eats you up.  and i don't wanna ginx it, but seems like my Vitamin B supply has been working to fend off mosquitoes :). 

and the Sea Turtle Conservancy Center facilities are nice.  ktichen, cook, weekly cleaner, and clean bathrooms, hot water and internet (most of the time).  mush feel eveywhere, i feel as if im in constant state of post corepower yoga.  i suppose my skin will be much healthier/humectada by the end of the trip.

sharing the room in bunk style with 5 super friendly, smart and tough young ladies, and in total we are 9 researchers ready begin our orientation (about 2 weeks) and kick some conservation booty.

as the lead of the crew recommended today, i shall go rest up... as she warns "todays practically the only day we get to do so."

PS
fyi on the travelling to Tortguero:  there is a more convenient way, via small aircrafts for about $65, which to me isn't that bad considering the hassle of switching 3 times and making numerous pit stops along the way via ground and water; however if you choose the other route for exploratory and wallet coscious reasons, no need to take the private tour buses (up to $50), when the public transport ones cover just about the same time (maybe 40 min more) and costs less than $10. 

.