Zippy ZIGZAG Road
So... I turned 30 this year! I have been wondering about doing something epic to celebrate – a solo backpacking adventure. The original idea was to visit central Asia and walk through Silk Road, but oh well, the visa is way too complicated. The final decision is backpacking in Costa Rica for two reasons: Taiwanese can visit without a visa for 30 days, and the nature and wildlife here are amazing.
I started planning this trip in 2024 and couldn't decide between the Caribbean side and the Pacific side, as they are both beautiful and have different types of wildlife to see. In the end, I followed the popular plan of many tourists: land in San Jose, head to Tortuguero (Caribbean side) to see turtles, go through La Fortuna and Monteverde and end the trip in Manuel Antonio (Pacific side). For transportation, I booked shared shuttles to travel through the towns.
The moment I stepped out of the San Jose airport, I was welcomed by my taxi driver (and many other taxi drivers). The driver recognised me immediately (probably because of my last name) and rescued me from the crowd of other taxi drivers.
I only stayed in San Jose for a day, which is probably enough. I went to the Costa Rican Art Museum for a little wander. All the introduction plates are in Spanish, so I was just walking around and guessing the meaning behind the art. Two pieces really caught my eye, one is a bathtub filled with rubber bananas, and another is a family photo full of bullet holes and shell cases. On the first floor of the museum, there's a room called "Golden room". The wall of the room is covered by a mural that represents Costa Rican history from the pre-Columbian era to the 1940s. The La Sabana Park behind the museum used to be an airport, and the Golden room was the airport lounge at the time.
I booked an afternoon walking tour to visit two local markets. It took around 45 minutes to walk from the museum to the centre. I was nervous at the start because I was not sure whether it was safe to walk in San Jose by myself. It was actually not too bad. I went to Café Rojo for lunch before the tour. The café served Costa Rican and Vietnamese fusion dishes, which were amazing! I had eggplant casado, and I was surprised that the casado tasted so good with Vietnamese fish sauce and mint.
The walking tour I did is San Jose bite and sight. We went to a farmer's market where you can find different Costa Rican fruits, and you could maybe see old people playing bingo (we did!). In the market, we tried mamon chino (rambutan), sour guava, banana and pineapple. I have a love and hate thing with pineapples. I was obsessed with pineapples when I was a kid, but every time I had pineapples, my tongue would have an uncomfortable, tingly feeling – like a cut. That happened so many times that I got tingly tongue just by smelling pineapples. People in Costa Rica bragged about their pineapples so much that I had to try, and of course, my tongue felt tingly after a few slices of pineapple.
The second market we went to is the central market, which has everything. You can come here to alter clothes, buy daily supplies or get food. The tour guide told us that this market has the oldest flower shop and ice cream shop in San Jose. The ice cream tasted very cinnamon-y, which reminded me of Christmas. The texture of the ice cream reminded me of the "stone ice (pao pao ice)" from my hometown, Keelung, Taiwan.
The last stop of the tour was a private café (I think it was owned by the tour guide). We tried some traditional Costa Rican food here. Started off with a tamale. Costa Rica's tamale is made with corn flour dough with some meat and vegetables, and wrapped in banana leaves. It was delicious and also very filling. Followed by some cheese empanada. Empanada is very common in Latin American countries and Spain, and every country and family has their own recipe. The one we tried this time is a sweet empanada. We flattened the corn flour dough, put some sugar and cheese inside, folded it like a dumpling, and pan-fried it. The tour ended with a nice cup of coffee and the empanada we made ourselves – very Costa Rican.
I booked my shuttle and local tour in Tortuguero with Costa Rica Roots Tour. They are very reliable, the communication beforehand was clear, and the tour guides were professional. I woke up very early to get the shuttle from San Jose to Tortuguero. Because it was a shared shuttle, we took a little detour to a place called Siquirres to meet up with other people who were going to Tortuguero as well. It was an early start, so Roots offered breakfast for the trip. We had a traditional Costa Rican breakfast, Gallo Pinto (rice and beans with scrambled eggs).
Tortuguero is an island, so the only way to get there is either by boat or by plane. We took the boat from La Pavona, and it took around 45 minutes to an hour to get there. The boat ride was great, and it felt short with the amazing view of the river. The other place to get the boat to Tortuguero is Moin. Tortugeuro village is very small. It takes around 10 minutes to walk through every corner of the village, and you will definitely keep seeing people you've seen earlier. This makes me think, "How do people date here? The choices seem quite limited and aren't they going to match with their neighbours on dating apps?"
I thought it would be great romantic to run on the beach, so I went for a run after I checked in. It was a total mistake; it was so difficult to run on the sandy beach. I switched to the trail path, well... guess what? The path was extremely muddy, double mistakes. So for those coming to Tortuguero, forget about keeping fit and doing your daily run, just enjoy the sun (and torrential rain).
July to October is the turtle nesting season (arribada) in Tortuguero, but it is also the rainy season. I signed up for the turtle nesting tour and was praying for good weather. Thankfully, the weather wasn't too bad that night, and I could even see stars and a tiny hint of the galaxy. There are many rules to join the turtle tour, so visitors can observe this amazing moment and not disturb the turtles. Visitors have to wear dark clothes, can't take photos and can't wear perfume or mosquito repellents. Our tour guide took us to a meeting point first. Here, the volunteers at the conservation centre told the tour guides where they had spotted turtles earlier and assigned the tour groups to different locations. At the beach, we waited for a few minutes while our tour guide and the volunteers went and checked that the turtle was ready. Once the turtle was ready, we moved slowly and quietly towards the turtle. It was amazing to see new lives come to earth and to think about how many challenges they have to face once they hatch. The volunteers started measuring and tagging the turtle once it finished laying eggs. The turtle I saw that night had been tagged before, which means that it had been here and laid eggs in the same spot!
I woke up early the next day to join the 5 am boat tour on the Tortuguero canal. The view on both sides of the canal makes me feel like I'm entering Jurassic Park. There was an option of kayaking, which I regretted not taking because it felt so much cooler! On the canal, we saw lots of different birds up close, such as jacana, heron, anhinga and vulture. Through our binoculars, we also saw spider monkeys, iguanas and a sloth that lived in the jungle on the side. Our tour guide warned us that there were caimans in the river, so don't try to swim here. He slowly stopped our boat and pointed at the riverbank, "Look! There's a caiman" Well... I didn't see it at that time, so I just took a photo, and I guess I saw it now.
（Find the caiman）
When we got off the boat after the tour, the tour guide asked if someone could help him pull the boat up. As soon as he turned around, the pole he used to secure the boat fell into the water, and the boat drifted away. He shouted, "No!!!" And quickly jumped onto the neighbour's boat. Thankfully, the boat didn't drift too far, and the neighbour was very kind to help him retrieve the boat.
I went back for breakfast and a short break and quickly went out to join my second tour of the day, the Tortuguero National Park walking tour. I had the same tour guide – told you that Tortuguero is extremely small. The village is so small that I could be recognised on the street after a day. People just kept saying hi to me during the tour. I felt popular for the first time in my life.
There are two sectors in the Torutguero National Park – the canal sector and the cerro sector. The boat tour and walking tour in the morning were all in the canal sector, which covered the river and the jungle trail on the side of the river. As soon as we entered the park, we saw a tiny poison dart frog and followed by many others throughout the walk. Earlier, we saw the spider monkeys from far away, and now they were peeing above us. With a binocular in hand, I was amazed by the amount of wildlife the tour guide spotted and introduced to us. I will remember the moment I saw the anteater, agouti and toucan for the rest of my life.
（Find the toucan）
It started to rain very heavily in the afternoon till the next morning. In the morning, I had a little walk in the rain and was surprised by how dry I stayed in my new rain jacket (great investment). It stopped raining in the afternoon, so I went to Tortuguero Cerro as planned. I took the pubic boat from the main pier. For people who want a more flexible schedule, there are also private boats available.
The boat stopped at a very simple and crude place. There was nothing apart from a few sandbags that worked as steps. I headed to the highest point of the hill and saw a family of spider monkeys climbing and hanging around the trees here. Tortugeuro Cerro is a very small hill and took only 20 minutes to get to the viewpoint at the top, where you can see the Tortugeuro island and village.
I walked down the hill and continued walking to the main entrance of Tortoguero Cerro. I was accompanied by a dog that came out of nowhere (real Spirited Away vibe). I thought the main entrance would lead to the nearby village, San Francisco, but instead it led to another pier. Where is the village? I thought to ask the guy at the main entrance, but since I don't speak Spanish, what I got in return was a ticket check. In the end, I walked the same way back to where I got off the boat. When I got back to the very shabby pier, I saw a little trail and at least three people riding the bike pass that way. It must be the way to the village (but I didn't try and go on an adventure).
Compared with the Tortuguero Canal, I saw fewer animals in the Tortuguero Cerro. But I'm not sure whether it's because I didn't go with an experienced tour guide who could spot and point out animals for me. I still recommend Tortuguero Cerro, though; it is a great place for a little hike and to get away from the village for a bit.
Back to the village, I went to El Patio for some Rice and Beans. I really like their food, so I kept coming back during my stay. I tried chicken Rice and Beans on my first night, and it was probably the best chicken I've ever had. The cocknut milk made the chicken so tender and full of flavour. I also tried the fish Rice and Beans, and it was also delicious. This was my last day in Tortugeuro, so I had my dinner with a Caribbean cocktail, Coco Loco. It was raining heavily outside, and I sat on the patio enjoying the Caribbean night on my own.
Tortuguero recommendation
San Jose toTortuguero | Take the shared shuttle provided by Costa Rica Roots Tour |
Accomondation | |
Transportation on the island | Walk! |
Tortuguero Cerro | Take the public boat from the main pier to San Francisco (Hill)  |
Restaurants | El Patio Tortuguero, Restaurante Mi Niño |
Must bring | Waterproof jacket, Dry bag, Mosquito repellents and Shorts |
