This is Costa Rica’s version! Let me remind you of the fact that Costa Rica is still a very wild and dangerous place. There are a lot of beautiful things here but there are also a lot of untamed things as well. My mom told me about the American tourist kidnapped/missing from San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica) for about a week. She was traveling with a friend and the friend left a day earlier than her. She’s still missing but it got me thinking that it’s a jungle out here. No pun intended (but those who know me know I throw around a pun here and there) but pun kinda intended. I was happy with my decision to come here after I was able to book the last remaining leg of my transportation back from Tortuguero to San Jose – most companies I sent emails to online said the minimum booking is for 2 passengers and even though my alter ego (Travel Non-Anxious Amy) exists, she doesn’t count towards the minimum persons. Sadly. So here we are, An American WOMAN traveling Costa Rica alone but all I can do is keep my wits about me and pray to the Universe to keep me safe. Now, about this jungle ride.
I gotta be honest, I had no idea what I actually booked when I looked into transportation options between places. I just knew I thought I would be safer in the care of an established company with a paper trail in case I went missing or something. Scary how that thought actually crossed my mind before this latest incident of the American woman missing. My shuttle picked me up at 8:30a and we set off for the main dock in Limon. It’s a pretty run down part of Costa Rica but we only passed through to get to the docks. Then we waited for the fuel to arrive to transport 18 people and all of their luggage to Tortuguero. I’m amazed El Capitan fit all of our bags onto the boat plus us passengers and we set off for the 2 hour boat ride to Tortuguero.
Along the way, we saw lots of creatures (those that follow me on instagram can see all the pics/videos. Those that don’t, I’m only a few clicks away @goamesgo). We saw sloths, howler monkeys (they sound like dogs), crocodiles, herons and iguanas. I’m sure there were plenty of other creatures around but that was enough for me and this non-Disneyland ride where the animals could actually harm us.
Also along the way, we had 2 very nerve-wrecking incidents. Again, I’m in a jungle so I should remember the mindset that things will work out..but I can’t ever really lose all my anxiety….a little bit is OK to keep things sharp.
Incident #1: El Capitan spotted a crocodile and every time he points something out, he stops the boat, allows one side to take pictures, then puts us in reverse, turns the boat around and lets the other side get a view. It really is quite nice of him. So here we are looking at a wild crocodile and the crocodile starts moving. And we’re like “oh shit, it’s moving.” And then the boat’s engine turns off and the captain is asking someone in the back to check and make sure the pump is working. And the entire boat just looks at each other like, “wtf, this crocodile is moving towards us and our boat isn’t moving??!.”
Incident #2: The boat stops again. No announcement, no checking on the pumps. We ran out of gas. But never fear, El Capitan has spare gas cans on board and he asks a girl in back to take the hose from one can and put it in the other. And again, the entire boat looks around like, “wtf Costa Rica…” And then we’re off.
And now I’m in Tortuguero which is a really small town accessible only by boat. It feels safe but I’ll still be cautious. I got a dog I need to come home and spoil. And this might not have been the best destination in Costa Rica as you can’t even swim in the water because there are sharks and barracudas. Hopefully the weather cools a bit so I don’t need to jump into a body of water. Let’s hope so. Hello Tortuguero!
There She Goes... 