Day 5 of Caravan Tour - Turtle Rescue

It is an off day for us, before we start heading back to San Jose the next day.  Our guide planned an outing for us to a Turtle Rescue Center about an hour away in a small town called Montezuma.  For those of us interested, we loaded up on our big bus and stopped at a small cafe so that we can use the restrooms.  We then drove another 10 minutes to town.  We did not walk around the town but there appears to be a few tourist shops.  Many cater to tourists and we saw other tourists wandering around the streets.

We then split into two groups so that we can fit into a small passenger van and drive about 5 minutes away to visit the Turtle Rescue Center.

Turtles are reptiles characterized by a hard shell over their bodies.  They move very slowly on land but in the water they can swim up to up to 30km/hr.  Turtles have been poached because most people see them as slow-moving animals and can easily be captured.  More importantly, people have been digging up their eggs for consumption or other purposes.  Animals and birds too, have been culprits of digging up turtle eggs.  Those swimming in the oceans face entanglements from fishing nets and other debris and swallow debris like plastic, that looks like food.  The overall turtle population has been declining.  Like all wildlife the turtle species have been threatened.

This site we are visiting in Montezuma is manned by two young Germans from Berlin.  They are on their Gap Year (between high school and college) and decided to volunteer for this project.  They are partially funded by the German government.  It is a great way for young people to do something worthy before going to college.  They learn so much working in a different environment and became worthy citizens.  I think more American kids should spend a gap year doing something worthy or travel to meet other people.  They mature so much when they are not constantly under the watchful eyes of their parents or teachers.

Young German volunteers 

Beach where they keep a lookout for turtles laying eggs

Sanctuary for the eggs to keep away from predators

Eggs are kept here until they are hatched

These are not turtles!

Decorations around the site

Beach facing the Pacific Ocean

You would miss this if you didn't know their mission

After returning from Montezuma we have some free time.  You can swim in the hotel pools (there are quite a few), go to the gym, get a massage, walk through the wildlife center again, or just laze around.  I decided to use the gym and after that laze around and do some packing.  I also took a dip in the ocean, just to say I swam in the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica.

That night our group had a farewell dinner at their specialty steak restaurant.  It's a step up from the buffet restaurant and they served each individual his or her choice of cut of steak.  I ordered the ribeye medium-cooked.  It was edible and probably equivalent to steak you eat at a low-end steak restaurant.  The sides and desserts are of higher quality and the restaurant is quieter than the buffet restaurant.  It is the restaurant closest to the beach and probably the "Crown Jewel" of all their restaurants.

Day 4 of Caravan Tour - Macaws and Wildlife Hike

Barcelo Playa Tambor Hotel is an all-inclusive hotel.  This means you pay one price and everything is included - your room, meals, drinks (including alcoholic drinks), entertainment, recreation, etc.  It is a very big hotel and very popular among Costa Ricans.  We are staying here for 3 nights, which means we don't have to keep moving from hotel to hotel.  Caravan Tours has 3 groups staying at the hotel at the same time.

On its property is a wildlife center, where wild macaws come to roost.  On the first morning our guide, Aaron, took us on a tour of the wildlife center.  When he is not leading tours he is volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary.  This means he is very knowledgeable about all kinds of wildlife.  Macaws are long-tailed and colorful parrots that are found in South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbeans.  We walked through this sanctuary and saw many wild macaws and some that are caged.  The ones that are caged are hybrids and will not survive on their own in the wild.  It was a fascinating lesson on macaws.

We also saw other wildlife in this sanctuary.

Here are pictures of other parts of the hotel:

This is the first time I have stayed at an all-inclusive hotels.  It's becoming very popular.  I see many that are advertised in the beaches of Mexico.  The beach at this hotel is part of the Pacific Ocean and even though there is a long beach there are very few people swimming in the ocean.  I dipped in the ocean a couple of times.  The water is warm unlike water in the Pacific Ocean in California.  It is too shallow to swim but the waves are strong.  

There is a downside to an all-inclusive hotel.  The meals are mostly buffet-style.  It means you have a lot of choices but you also have a lot of waste.  I talked to one of the restaurant workers (using Google Translate and my new Apple AirPod 3) and she told me that recycle the waste into compost and gave them or sell them to the farmers.  On our way to the hotel we passed by many melon fields.  I have bought golden melons from Costco that were grown in Costa Rica.  I did not see any pineapple fields even though most pineapples you buy at Costco come from Costa Rica (except in Hawaii).

There are a few specialty restaurants at the hotel.  You have to get up very early to make reservations because they are often sold out.  A family from California and I booked a table at the Japanese restaurant called Miyako.  We were very excited when we were able to reserve a table for six.  That night we dine at the restaurant expecting to eat Japanese food.  It looked like Japanese food but it tasted anything like sushi.   It was the worst Japanese food I ever had.

There are a lot of activities going around the hotel late into the night.  They are mostly for the locals.  Some are kids programs and the families seem to enjoy it very much.  Me?  I rather spend a quiet evening in my room - writing this blog.

Day 3 of Caravan Tour - Hanging Bridges and the Nicoya Peninsula

We stayed only 1 night in the Magic Mountain Hotel.  Our next 3 nights will be at the Barcelo Playa Tambor Hotel in Guanacaste Province.  This means we can comfortable stay in 1 room and not have to pack and unpack.

This morning we are visiting Mystico Park where we'll be hiking in the cloud forest and crossing 5 hanging bridges.  Our group is split into different groups based on their hiking capabilities and led by local guides.  Some cross only 1 or 3 or 5 bridges.  It was raining the morning we were hiking so many of us have to wear ponchos or bring an umbrella.  It is a very green, beautiful forest.  As we hiked the guide pointed out different trees, animals or features of the forest.

Map of the park

A Hiking Trail

One of the long bridges

A very dense rainforest

Our guide lecturing us

A snake

Another snake

Another bridge

A smaller bridge

We drove around Lake Arenal and through the cloud forest of Cordillera de Tilarán.  There is so much greenery everywhere.  For lunch we stopped at a restaurant and gift shop in Tilaran.

Cloud Forest

We were introduced to some of the indigenous pottery.

I can't resist taking pictures of some of the beautiful flowers on the property.

We finally arrived at the Barcelo Playa Tambor Hotel and were welcomed by a native dance.

It is a beautiful hotel and our rooms are spacious.  There is a patio outside the room where we can hang our wet clothes.