Tortuguero to La Fortuna

As we were leaving dinner last night one of night watchmen spotted a potoo high up in a tree. The locals call them stick birds for they look exactly like the end of a dead branch. They are related to nightjars and have an eerie call.

I was woken at 04.30 by torrential rain hammering on the roof. That was a good opportunity for me to write up my blog as sleep was impossible. There were intermittent power cuts and literally the only light was the glow from my iPhone. Pitch black without it.

We are leaving today for the 200km road trip to La Fortuna. First we must make the 1-2 hour boat trip to reach the road. I take some photos of the hotel before leaving. The rooms at the lodge were VERY simple but clean and the shower was fantastic. There was a lovely pool area and the lodge grounds extend down to the beach and the Caribbean Sea. We were advised not to swim in the sea as there are strong currents.

The sea was less than inviting – wild and raw!

The cases were loaded onto our boat and we setoff through the narrow channel that led to the main waterway.

We made no stops for wildlife but did spot two king vultures which apparently are a rare sighting here. As soon as we left the boat and hauled our cases up the muddy bank it started to rain. It was that heavy tropical stuff and it continued all day so it turns out that this was a good day to be making the long transfer. Buses are dry! It was a 4 hour drive up to Sarapiqui where we visited the Mi Cafecito Coffee Cooperative. We had lunch here and then a tour. Lunch was both welcome and good with freshly caught tilapia fish and the obligatory plantains, beans and rice.

It turns out that producing coffee is complicated. It takes 4-5 years for a plant to be productive and the beans are hand picked. The bean has 4 skin layers which need to be removed, it has to be dried and then roasted. Next time I have a coffee I will be much more appreciative of the hard work involved. 12kg of freshly picked beans produces just 1kg of coffee.

After the tour, some of which was outside in the pouring rain, we were rewarded with coffee liqueur shots. The liqueur is made from the juicy second layer of the bean. This layer tastes similar to a lychee.

We rejoined the bus and 90 minutes later we reached La Fortuna which will be our base for the next three nights. The town is close to Arenal Volcano and offers lots of adrenalin rush activities as well as some less life-endangering ones (which I have opted for).

It was now 18.30 – a long day indeed – so we dumped our cases in our rooms and strolled into town for a pizza and beer. I have to say it was one of the best pizzas I have ever had…or maybe it was the lack of rice and beans on the plate that made it taste so delicious!!