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The Caribbean
The Central Valley is tied to the Caribbean coast through memory and migration. The nucleuses of today’s dominant cultural circles had their roots planted in the Caribbean and were attracted to the lush valley to escape heat, precipitation and the Anopheles mosquito. This a mosaic of black, yellow, tan and white skinned people who have forged frail farmsteads and livelihoods between the sea and the region’s largest remaining stand of lowland tropical rain forest. The Caribbean coast extends from Nicaragua on the north to Panama on the south for more than 200 km. The northern extension is referred to as Tortuguero and the south, the Talamanca coast. Both names are derived from the same source, the seasonal slaughter of sea turtles that frequented the region during the nesting cycle. Coastal residents would intercept them on their courting and nesting routes using the turtles for protein supplement and the shells of some species for ornaments. The slaughters have stopped except for a special, controlled season which allows lucky fishermen picked in a lottery, to ply their ancestor’s trade in sea turtles. Most of the area remains remote, an untouched paradise of bleached white beaches, tropical coconut palms, slow lapping waves and a sea that looks like glass accenting the abrupt wall of the rain forest that grows against the roads and trails in the region. A region dotted with nearly half a dozen parks and protected reserves which remain the least explored in the entire system. To the north of Limón is the largest stretch of undeveloped coastline on the Caribbean; it is called Tortuguero, land of the turtles. There are only few roads that cut through this giant rain forest so most traffic is on board boats. Sports fishing for shook and tarpon have made this northern half of the coast popular. Attractions/Activities: hiking in the forests, some snorkeling/diving, fishing and turtle hatching in Tortuguero.
Hitoy-Cerere Park
Along the northeast quadrant of La Amistad lies Hitoy-Cerere Biological Reserve atop the Caribbean slopes of the Talamanca Mountains. Lower, denser, and as remote as Amistad, Hitoy’s secrets lie undisturbed within its mysterious interior niches.
Tortuguero Park
For hundreds of years indigenous cultures have hunted the sea turtle for food and Tortuguero means “land of the turtle”. The rain forest that straddles the beaches and stretches west to the first major elevation changes is an even greater attraction. Salty estuaries give way to brackish gallery forest and slowly into freshwater forests with rivers filled with tannins tainting even metal debris on their floor. This is sloth land. This pluvial forest is at its peak during the three wettest months, January, June and July. All of the coastal waters rise and allow easy access to the interior lagoons for birdying and backwater tours of one of the last Caribbean rain forest.
Barra Del Colorado Park
Less than 40 kilometers to the North lies yet another forest which receives nearly thirty percent more rainfall than Tortuguero, Barra del Colorado National Park. They are connected by man-made coastal canals that wind through the salt and brackish waters of the estuaries and gallery forest. Within the park’s buffer zone lies a town of 900 people, mostly fishermen and three of the country’s oldest and most popular sports fishing camps in the region.
Gandoca-Manzanillo Park
South of Cahuita hidden away along the humid coast is maybe the least known of all the Caribbean Parks. Its reef system may be larger than the more popular Cahuita reef but little is known about the region. This marine nursery may be one of the mysterious breeding grounds of the Atlantic tarpon and manatee.
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