Tortuguero National Park

THINGS TO DO, COSTA RICA Updated : Nov 16, 2016, 12.55 PM IST

Ajita Chowhan

Over the past decade Ajita has extensively explored more than 30 countries in Latin America, South East Asia, North America, Western Europe, Scandinavia and Africa. She is an ardent believer of the slow, long-term travel enabling most authentic understanding of culture, landscape, people and society. She continues to do so by currently living and working in the Northern Congo Basin in Sub-Saharan Africa. She curates her elsewhereness as A Small Town Girl at http://www.asmalltowngirl.in.


Visit a turtle hatchery – the beaches of Costa Rica become a busy place during the two seasons – one where thousands of turtles come to the beach to lay eggs, and the second season when the eggs hatch. Here at the hatchery, two things are illegal, so be cautious – to pick up the eggs, the hatchlings, or to sport them. When the eggs hatch, some locals encourage tourists to race the baby turtles and place bets. Poaching of eggs or hatchlings attracts heavy fines, and the act is punishable by law. There are a few government certified organisations where you can volunteer to protect, be a vigilante, and take care of the eggs during the season. It is nature's marvel to see the turtles coming back, a rough estimate pins it to 50,000 turtles, from thousands of kilometers to the exact same spot where they lay eggs to escort their little ones into the vast ocean.
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