Last night was long. We were again sitting by the water, drinking beer and a respectable amount of rum. Well, also water. But maybe too little.
Something about the morning of the 24th of november made me understand, that drinking plenty of water when drinking plenty of non-water, is crucial for feeling different the day after.
We planned to go paddeling at eleven. Luckily there was a strong rain at eleven, since I couldn´t think of solid food until about 11:30.
Eventually I found myself sitting in the back of a small but surprisingly heavy and roomy canoe, holding a wooden paddle in my hands which was designed in the same way as it was about 500 and more years ago. A real traditional caribbean paddle. Hard wood. Also heavy. Probably made to be a weapon and a paddle.
Usually the stronger person should sit in the front, being the engine of the canoe and the person in the aft is doing the steering.
Anyway; I was sitting in the back and Henna was sitting in the front with the camera ready to go when she wasn´t paddeling.
First we had to cross the big channel and paddle along the oposite bank, trying to find the entrance to one of the smaller channels. Our only map was installed on display in the national park office, so we had to keep it in mind.
The current was in places pretty strong and we tried not to get too close to the plants that might be snakes.
Green all over. Silence of the forest? No way. Palm leaves ratteling in the wind, monkeys doing spectacular jumps and dropping things. Birds singing (or shouting?), and the noise of the water running along the hull of the canoe.
The channels got smaller and narrower the higher up we went. We were looking out for wildlife all over. We could smell (thanks to Ross´s lessons) that spider monkeys or howler monkeys are somewhere around. Than we would look more up into the trees until we saw them. Jumping around, making a hell of a noise and eating fruits and nuts.
Very often we saw for example an iguana, sitting right next to us, sunbathing on a bush. Than we were staring at each other for some time until either we or the iguana went away.
Of course there was more: Turtles and little crocodiles (Kaimans), seabirds and monkeys. Naturally.
Most likely we saw a lot more, without really seeing it. Snakes and many other animals are the masters of camouflage. It´s like trying to see abranch or a leave, when there are branches and leaves all over.
We had to be out of the national park by 17:00, so at some point we simply turned around and enjoyed being transported down stream by the currents. The perfect nature experience. Almost perfect.
On the way back we met a boat with a noisy, smelly combustion engine. Oh yes, four stroke. How eco.. a 115 horsepower platform with about 15 other tourists on it. All nicely seated, cameras and binoculars around the neck and a nonstop talking “guide”.
How close can you get to a caiman with such a thing?
Further down we came across about ten more of those and we couldn´t stop wondering. They could at least use electric engines and keep some distance to the animals.
Back in Tortuguero we wrote a nice complain on a paper to the ministry for conservation.
Again a day with lots of learning. Also about ecotourisme…