March 20 – Getting to Tortuguero National Park

We had a long day of travel today…we were picked up from the hotel at 5:15am.  Because of the early hour we requested a packed breakfast.  After a two hour drive we arrived at a restaurant where they had another breakfast for us.  This was not mentioned on the itinerary.  After an hour and 45 minute wait (while a couple of other tour groups arrived for breakfast) we all loaded onto a large bus for another 2 hour bus ride over sometimes dirt roads.  

Along the way we had a slight delay while the local banana plantation "ran bananas".  They have giant conveyor belts into the plantations where workers cut the stalks of bananas and hang them on hooks.  Once they have hung enough to fill the belt a guy hooks himself up to a harness that is connected to the belt and he "runs" the bananas to the work shed where they are washed and boxed for shipping.  The blue bags are to protect against pests and to act as mini-green houses to help the bananas ripen. 

Also, while driving by a living fence (small trees used as fence posts), the guide suddenly yelped, the bus driver stopped and backed up and there was a sloth hanging upside down from one of the small trees...not more than eight or ten feet from the road and at eye level. 

We eventually arrived at a boat dock where we had time for a quick bathroom break and then we loaded onto boats for an hour and 45 minute trip down the river.  A separate boat headed out with all of our luggage. 

The route took us on the Rio Sucio and headed towards the Caribbean and then up the Rio Tortuguero to our lodge…the Mawamba Lodge.  It sounds like it should be in Africa.  Photos of the Rio Sucio and Rio Tortuguero.

We did have a short stop when the guide spotted some howler monkeys in some trees near the river. 

Boat dock at the Mawamba Lodge.

We were given the key to our bungalow…last one down the walkway.  Lovely shade trees and palms with a large deck overlooking the river.  The room is lovely and the bathroom huge (think it had a huge soaking tub at one time that is now a large planter box).  Unfortunately, there is no air conditioner and no insulation in the wood walls or the ceiling with its metal roof.  The room is like an oven.  There are two fans mounted on the walls and a ceiling fan.  Hopefully that will be enough,

We had lunch at the only restaurant on the property.  It is a large, open-air pavilion with fans and a nice breeze…thank goodness.  Then we had to sort out our voucher/national park ticket issues.  We only had vouchers and we must have a ticket.  The park service severely limits the number of people allowed to enter the park each day.  Fortunately the hotel concierge was quickly able to sort everything out and we are set for tomorrow.  Then it was a bit of relaxing on the deck for the rest of the afternoon.  Then it was dinner and to bed.

We spent some time wandering the grounds.  There is a lot of birdlife and wildlife all around us.

Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher

Iguana

One tree had lots of oropendola nests.  They are long and hanging, much like weaver nests we've seen in Africa.

And of course there were a lot of oropendola coming and going.  We assume there might be chicks but didn't see any.

Mary got a sequence of pictures of an oropendola flying up to and entering a nest.

Fortunately, the room cooled off nicely this evening.  And the bathroom seems to be 15 degrees cooler than the room.  Probably due to all the tiles.