| This is Janice Ross from Alabama with a couple of journal exerpts from Club Costa Rica trip
Thursday:
We arrive at Mawamba Lodge in Tortuguero after a two hour bus ride through forest covered mountains and banana plantations, and another two hour trip in a boat through a wide canal. On either side of the canal are dense forests alternating with cultivated deforested areas and human settlements. Often house are on stilts and painted bright colors such as purple and aqua. Sometimes we can see the Caribbean to the east just beyond a thin strip of land. Large flocks of pelicans fly close to our boat in these areas. The lodge is beautiful with exotic (to me) flowers and plants, and gorgeous pool. We get settled into our rooms and have lunch in an open pavilion. Then off again in the boat to the nearby town of Tortuguero. Before we get there we stop at the Turtle Museum, devoted to the endangered green turtle where we see an excellent video --surprisingly, although out-of-the way, this is a busy place. The town is small with no paved roads. Everyone walks, children ride bicyles on the sandy paths. People stand around chatting. There are places to buy souvenirs and groceries. Houses and other buildings are arranged informally and again they are often painted in bright colors. I saw houses that had curtains at the entrance rather than doors --maybe a tribute to the uniformly warm weather and the trustworthiness of neighbors. We walked back to the lodge on the beach on the Caribbean side. The sand on the beach although soft and powdery, was black -- a big shock to me being used to the white sand of Florda Gulf beaches. Effect of volcanic ash, says Frank , our guide. Back to the lodge and another fine meal in the pavilion Then to bed next to an open screened window with the sounds of Caribbean surf, and strange insects and animals wafting in.
6AM Friday
Up early for a boat ride in remote narrow canals. The early morning light was wonderful like the beginning of the world. (It was a terrific grief to me that my camera battery gave out just as we were getting deep into the forest -- the new one was back on my dresser.) Our guide and the boatman are incredibly sharp-eyed . They slow the boat and quietly move in close to animals and birds they sight -- the boatman sees a 6 inch long green lizard on an identically colored leaf from a good 40 feet -- I can only spot it at 5 feet. We see many kinds of birds and animals -- a tiger heron, Jesus Christ lizard (walks on water), an alligator on a log, we hear Howler monkeys (sound like barking dogs) and actually see a troupe of capuchin monkeys (these are spottedby one of us) who are looking for a route via tree brances across the canal. They make several tentative sorties. Finally one finds a path up through a particular branch where he can jump to a branch from a tree on the other side --looks dangerous, but he makes it. Then each member of the troupe makes the same trip up to the identical branch and across -- even mothers with babies clinging to their backs make the jump -- very exciting and marvellous to watch. This early morning trip was, for sure, the high point for me.
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