Category Archives: Costa Rica

Costa Rica – Wildlife Galore

Entering into Costa Rica we were faced with our first one way ticket issue…they need proof that you will leave the country to allow you in. We managed to convince the immigration official that we were meeting Nico & Diana Carolina in Colombia at the beginning of September so would be leaving for sure and as a compromise, he allowed us 15 days to pass through the country instead of the usual 90 days. It suited us fine though as it’s the most expensive country we have visited so far so we wanted to move through quickly!

So after our snap decision to try and catch the arribada (arrival on masse) of the Olive Ridley Turtles we headed straight for the town of Ostional on the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific Coast. It’s the site of an incredible natural phenomenon, where hundreds or even thousands of turtles arrive together to lay their eggs on about a one and a half kilometer stretch of beach. We planned to go to the beach at midnight which is when they say is the best time to go to catch the arrivals, but unfortunately there was not a single mamma turtle to be seen. Luckily however, all was not lost, because when we went to the beach in the afternoon for a stroll we came across baby turtles hatching!

Each turtle lays aprox 100 eggs in the nest, and interestingly Ostional is one of the only places in the world where the harvest of turtle eggs is legal, but only during the first few days of the arribada. Due to the huge numbers of turtles arriving to the same beach, they realised that after the first few days, the subsequent turtles were digging into previously laid nests and spoiling them anyway so they let the locals collect the first round.

After the incubation period (about 45 days) the turtles hatch and start their epic journey…it takes them about 4 days to reach the surface of the sand which is where we found them. Dogs and vultures were patrolling the beach waiting for the little ones to surface or digging them up before eating them.

We then spent the next 4 hours completely absorbed in protecting the little turtles and helping them to get safely to the water. They’re so helpless we were getting really angry with the fat dogs! Only one in 1000 hatchlings survive to adulthood, so they need as much help as they can get.

Sometimes the turtles aren´t quite ready for the run to the water, so they put them on their back to get them exercising first

Sometimes the turtles aren’t quite ready for the run to the water, so they put them on their backs and tickle their tummies to get them exercising first

After Ostional, we headed south with a quick and uneventful stopover in San José, to Quepos to visit the Manuel Antonio National Park. It’s one of the smallest of Costa Rica’s many National Parks but also one of the most visited for its diversity.

Beautiful views in Manuel Antonio

We were a bit disappointed when we walked in to find it was very developed – almost like a wildlife theme park. The main path going in was a road for cars and many of the other paths were closed for maintenance, however it did not disappoint in terms of the wildlife we saw: monkeys, birds, lizards, raccoons and at last…we spotted some sloths!!

Capuchin Monkey

After seeing a very commercial National Park, we set off in search of a more wild experience in Corcovado National Park in the Osa Peninsula. According to National Geographic, Corcovado is “the most biologically intense place on Earth in terms of biodiversity”! Once in Puerto Jiménez, we met with a local guide to organise a 3 day trek into the park. We slept in a tent at the Sirena Biological Station which, after a day of hiking along beautiful beaches and through jungle, seemed just like a scene taken out of Lost!

The Sirena Biological Station

Xavi’s hand is as big as a tapir’s foot!

While we didn’t see the elusive jaguars and pumas that we hoped for, we did see a tonne of other amazing wildlife while walking the trails. The highlights were seeing a tapir in the early hours of one morning, and a snake eating a small fox on the side of the path. The tapir was very shy and unfortunately we couldn’t catch it on camera, but the snake, otherwise occupied, was a great subject!