MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY

We had a few excursions booked during our stay in Puerto Jimenez. One was a tour of a nearby sea turtle conservation where we learned how the volunteers protect the sea turtles hatchlings and release them onto the beach when it’s time for them to swim off on their own. Many hatchlings die before reaching the water from predators or getting disoriented. The conservation aid in the process to ensure more baby turtles survive. During the tour, we gloved up, weighed and took measurements of the hatchlings, and assisted in a release. We will never forget how cute they were waddling into the water to be swept away.

Another excursion we did was a night kayak and bioluminescence tour through SurcoTours. We met up with our guide at the beach, hopped in the kayaks, and started paddling into the sunset. As it became dark, we pulled up on another beach, where there was regular bioluminescence. We got out of the kayaks and started walking through the shallow waves, viewing the most incredible glowing blue swirls circle around our legs. We played around until we started to hear some thunder in the distance. It was time to start paddling back.

Our final excursion was an incredible tour through the Corcovado Rainforest. The tour started off taking a small private boat around the coastline to reach a beach where we would hop out to start our hike. The boat ride there was beautiful but brutal. The waves were quite choppy and the boat was small, so progress was very slow and rough. When we finally got to the start of the hike, we hopped out into the water (the boat could not get too close to the shore or it would get stuck) and started our hike. 

During the hike, we saw gorgeous toucans, snakes, a tapir, lizards, monkeys, and more. Halfway through the hike, there was a small tourist center with a tiny landing strip for private planes.