Today we traveled from San Jose over the mountains and down to the Caribbean coast. We saw just how far we are going to have to climb back up and we were introduced to the tropical heat.
We turned off the main road and soon were driving along vast banana plantations on dirt roads. We passed a few places where our “trail” crosses or parallels the road. It is going to be hot tomorrow.
We loaded our gear on a boat at Goshen dock (Muelle Goshen) and made our way to some very rustic cabins along the edge of the Rio Madre de Dios. That river joins up with the Pacuare River just before flowing into the Carribean. We discovered that across the river from the cabins was a small dock and path that lead to the northern Pacuare Reserve station – a turtle conservation group. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and doing our best to communicate with the people here.
After dinner I joined a small group on a turtle tour. It was a beautiful night with stars aplenty, a little bioluminescence and a few fire flies, but alas we missed seeing a nesting leatherback by minutes.
We spent the night in our cabin, mosquito free and listening to the sounds of the surrounding jungle.
The following video of boat on river