We’re really on roll as far as adventure goes. We’ve rafted, snorkeled, battled monkeys for our lunch, and now we’re touring the Amazon. Almost.

Actually it’s a remote and watery region on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica that is sometimes called “The Amazon of Central America.” We took a four-hour boat ride to get here, but when we leave the ride should be shorter.

This was another example of mobile tourism, like our raft ride that linked us between San Jose and Cahuita.  But unlike that trip, this one was calm and peaceful, and we stayed mostly dry — except me, who got misted whenever the captain cranked up the engine.

The boat ride took us from Limon, about 50 kilometers from the house we were staying in, through winding river passages and wide sections of inland waterways. We snatched views of the ocean and of tent communities of Semana Santa revelers. We also saw ranches and homesteads that seem to be accessible only from the water. The rivers became so shallow at some points that we needed to adjust our seating arrangement in the boat to make sure we didn’t get stuck.

There was a fair amount of river traffic, but still over the four hours we were able to see lots of wildlife, especially aquatic birds. I did catch a few glimpses of caimans, and at one point I swear I saw a big iguana swimming across a wide stretch of river, but nobody else noticed these.
The destination point was Tortuguero Villiage, a community on a long, narrow strip of land flanked on one side by the inland waterway and on the other by the Caribbean.

I overheard a tour guide tell his group yesterday that the island we’re on is at some points only 200 meters wide. We tried to walk to the end yesterday but finally gave up. It’s long and narrow.

It is also a National Park and a major nesting place for three species of marine turtles. Between boat rides into the jungle, black sand beaches, and turtle tourism, there is lots to draw people here. An additional draw is the fact that there are no cars here. Most of the commercial traffic her takes place on boat; the rest is carried manually or pushed on hand carts along the wide concrete sidewalk that is the main street of Tortuguero Village. This intriguing aspect reminds us our visit to Italy a few years ago when we enjoyed wandering the alleyways and cruising the canals of Venice. The Amazon and Venice in one trip. How can you beat that?

The only snag we’ve run into is that this is not a great time for turtles. Peak season for the most plentiful species here, the Green Sea Turtle, doesn’t begin until June. This is technically Leatherback Turtle season, but Mrs. Beyette, our hostess, tells us that the season is just beginning and things are kind of slow. A few nights ago the tour group had to walk a long way to find a turtle; it was almost midnight by that point. Mrs. Beyette says the tour would be ok for adults, but she didn’t seem to think the kids would be up for it. If it didn’t involve walking well beyond midnight, I think we’d try it .

Instead, we’ve been moving forward on homework progress and also combing the plentiful gift shops of Tortuguero.  Lanie made some friends in the playground yesterday evening, and her sisters used the time to buy some candy and plot out an ersatz Easter Egg hunt.

We’re limited by a lack of a kitchen here, but Mrs. Beyette’s family provides a nice breakfast for us — the Gallo Pinto here has more spices in it; it’s very good — and we’ve been managing to put together small lunches for ourselves.  There are multiple restaurants, some down winding foot paths, that offer us lots of dinner options.

Otherwise, we’ve been enjoying some small pleasures.  The playground is a treat, as was the rainstorm yesterday morning.  It was the first significant rain we experienced since … probably since December or November, actually.

It was raining at bedtime, too, and the sound of it on Mrs. Beyette’s aluminum roof was very pleasant.  Plus, it helped to cool things down.

A canoe trip may be in the cards, but swimming in the ocean probably won’t. The waves are very big and the currents are strong. We’ve only been wading so far, and it most likely won’t go beyond that.