March 3 – Drive to Tamarindo

We have a late morning transfer pick up so we slept in a bit, had breakfast overlooking the valley, did a bit of computer work and finished packing.  

Took a few photos of the great wood carvings in the lobby.

We were on the road a few minutes before 11:00.  This is the second long day drive that was mid-day and they had no lunch stop planned.  So odd. 

The views on the road are really beautiful.

We did have a bathroom break where there was a scarlet macaw hanging out in a tree in the parking lot.  He spent a lot of time grooming his feathers.  

We picked up a snack here.

On the drive we crossed the largest river in the area, the Tempisque River.  

We arrived at our hotel in Tamarindo late afternoon.  The hotel is right on the beach and our room is on the ground floor with a patio that allows us to walk right out to the beach. 

We had an early dinner at the open air bar and got ready for our night excursion.  We had about a half hour drive to a nearby beach where Pacific Green Turtles lay their eggs.  And this is egg laying season.

We were not allowed to take photos as any white light will deter the turtles from coming up on the beach.  We saw one turtle busily digging her nest…flinging sand everywhere.  The guide was able to use a red light so that we could see.  The red light apparently doesn’t bother the turtles.  A second one crawled her way up the beach and started digging her nest near the first one. 

We also saw a few baby turtles working their way to the ocean, again no photos as the flash could blind the turtles. 

Eventually the first turtle started laying her eggs.  When they do this, they go into a semi-trance so the guide was able set a white light right at the edge of the hole.  We were then allowed to take photos. 

On our way out a third turtle was working its way up the beach plus we came across a fourth turtle in another area who had just started digging her nest.

The whole event was so worth the time.  Nature at her fascinating self.