The journey to Tortuguero is by small boat from Puerto Limon up the canals and rivers that proliferate along the north eastern corner of Costa Rica.  Our progress was impeded severely by the Water Hyacinths that had spread all over the river. The plants become entangled in the outboard motors and make for an epic struggle. All sorts of birds and wildlife line the river banks en-route for Tortuguero. We stopped at a very solitary cafe on the river bank and were introduced to a tame Spider Monkey. It was a young male and was only interested in the female members of our party (especially those with colouring to match !). Tortuguero itself is a marvelously rich area for wildlife living amidst the forests, rivers, canals and coastline..

The area can be explored by boat and we found crocodile, howler monkeys, cayman, otters, river turtles, frogs, iguana and numerous birds.  At night, it is possible to go onto the beach (only with an official guide) and seek to witness the egg laying performance of the giant Green and Leatherback sea turtles. We were lucky enough to witness this extraordinary spectacle (sorry, but no photographs were allowed).