Caribbean Coast - Costa Rica - page 315

Parque Nacional Tortuguero
'Humid' is the driest word that could truthfully be used to describe Tortuguero, a 311-sq-
km coastal park that serves as the most important breeding ground of the green sea turtle.
With annual rainfall of up to 6000mm in the northern part of the park, it is one of the wet-
test areas in the country. In addition, the protected area extends into the Caribbean Sea,
covering about 5200 sq km of marine habitat. In other words, plan on spending quality
time in a boat.
The famed Canales de Tortuguero are the introduction to this park. Created to connect
a series of lagoons and meandering rivers in 1974, this engineering marvel allowed inland
navigation between Limón and coastal villages in something sturdier than a dugout canoe.
Regular flights service the village of Tortuguero - but if you fly, you'll be missing half the
fun. The leisurely taxi-boat ride, through banana plantations and wild jungle, is equal parts
recreation and transportation.
Most visitors come to watch sea turtles lay eggs on the wild beaches. The area attracts
four of the world's eight species of sea turtle, making it a crucial habitat for these massive
reptiles. It will come as little surprise, then, that these hatching grounds gave birth to the
sea-turtle-conservation movement. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation, the first pro-
gram of its kind in the world, has continuously monitored turtle populations here since
1955. Today green sea turtles are increasing in numbers along this coast, but the leatherb-
ack, hawksbill and loggerhead are in decline.
The area, however, is more than just turtles: Tortuguero teems with wildlife. You'll find
sloths and howler monkeys in the treetops, tiny frogs and green iguanas scurrying among
buttress roots, and mighty tarpons and endangered manatees swimming in the waters.