We were up at silly o' clock in our hotel in San José for our 2½-hour drive to Tortuguero, a 312-square-kilometre (194-sw.-mile) national park on the country´s Caribbean coast, with a variety of ecosystems, including rainforest, mangrove forest, swamps, beaches, and lagoons. We just had time for a coffee and some pastries for breakfast, but were promised a much more substantial second breakfast en route. In the town of Guápiles, we stopped for our first substantial meal in Costa Rica; scrambl
They live in the sea, are on the World Wildlife Fund’s “Endangered Species List”, and frequent the waters around Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast Tortuguero National Park. Their lives, though on similar paths, are a bit conflicted.
I’m talking about sea turtles and manatees. One draws crowds of up to 50,000 tourists each year; the other lives a hidden life and was thought until recently to be extinct.
Tortuguero is one of Costa Rica's most popular ecotourism destinations – a microcosm of rainforest, f
Personally, I prefer staying in small boutique hotels. Large chain hotels have their function, though I rather like when the receptionist remembers my name and is personable enough to care how I am and how my stay is going. I like waiters who remember I favor water without ice and that my mid-afternoon coffee is an absolute must … with a healthy shot of warm milk, if you please. I am deeply grateful to attentive staff who think up and suggest new things to do or places to visit, without being as
