Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TURTLE BEACH TRAGEDY
The Caribbean's turtle-conservation community suffered a devastating blow on the night
of May 30, 2013, when 26-year-old Costa Rican environmentalist Jairo Mora Sandoval
was murdered while patrolling a stretch of Moín beach near Puerto Limón. The tragedy
shines a light on the challenges facing turtle conservationists. While many communities
along the coast have successfully engaged the participation of former poachers in guide
and conservation work, turtle eggs continue to be prized on the black market for their
supposed aphrodisiac qualities. The remote section of beach where Mora was working,
near Costa Rica's biggest Caribbean port, is also frequented by drug-runners, some
armed with semi-automatic weapons. Mora's death sparked strong international and do-
mestic protest, with calls for beefed-up police presence and stronger conservation meas-
ures. While six suspects were taken into custody two months after the murder, the ulti-
mate outcome of Mora's case remains to be seen. Meanwhile, turtle-conservation efforts
up and down the Caribbean coast continue.
NORTHERN CARIBBEAN
Running north-south along the country's waterlogged eastern shore, the Canales de Tor-
tuguero (Tortuguero Canal) serves as the liquid highway that connects Puerto Limón to the
lush lowland settlements to the north: Parismina, Tortuguero and Barra del Colorado. This
is the wettest region in Costa Rica, a network of rivers and canals that are home to dimin-
utive fishing villages and slick sportfishing camps, raw rainforest and all-inclusive resorts
- not to mention plenty of wading birds and sleepy sloths.
Most significantly, the area's long, wild beaches serve as the protected nesting grounds
for three kinds of sea turtle. In fact, more green turtles are born here than anywhere else in
the world. Much of the region lies only a 30-minute flight from San José - but it nonethe-
less can feel like the end of the earth.
Parismina
For a sense of what Costa Rica's Caribbean coast was like prior to the arrival of mass tour-
ism, jump ship in this sleepy coastal fishing village, wedged between the Canales de Tor-
tuguero and the Caribbean Sea. Bereft of zip lines and 4WD adventure tours, it's the sort
