After driving for a few hours through banana farms to get to the Caribbean coast, I finally arrived at the boat dock. We piled onto a water taxi and drove through a maze of canals, weaving among the jungle. After taking so many busses, I was super excited to be in a boat!
When we arrived at Tortuguero, I was delighted to see a row of pretty docks over the water surrounded by forest on both sides, and water all around it. Tortuguero is such a special place.
Everyone in Tortuguero depends on tourists coming to see how special their community is. Since it is such a unique environment, a lot of travelers come to see the turtles lay eggs or baby turtles hatch. There is a lot of wildlife to see, and the people of the island work hard to educate visitors and keep everyone safe. They run hotels, supermarkets, drive boats, run restaurants, sell handicrafts and give tours to visitors all year round.
Living on a sandbar on the ocean sounds pretty great, but it can be pretty challenging as well. Imagine that the one street that you live on has your supermarket, bank and school, and the only way to leave your street is by boat. There are not even any cars, just bikes and the police's four-wheeler!
Since the grocery stores receive everything by boat, the food can be pretty expensive. Not to mention there's not exactly a shopping mall on the island! I bet it can be pretty frustrating, and sometimes a bit boring, to live on a tiny island.
Living in this environment also means respecting the rules.
