Laguna Lodge

Traveling by boat to the lodge!

On Day 4 of our adventure in Costa Rica, we traveled by boat on a narrow canal to the Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero. Built between a lagoon and the Caribbean Sea, boats are the only form of transportation to and from the premises. Upon arrival, our group was very surprised to see a dozen bats and a small, furry raccoon friend joining in on our meeting. Because the lodge attempts to co-exist with its native surroundings, the people of Laguna Lodge embrace the animals’ presence where it was more alarming to us as guests. It is difficult to imagine having to either grow or produce everything locally or import it by boat, as the Laguna Lodge has done for many years. Essential commodities like food, bottled water, gasoline, and healthcare products have to be transported by boat to these remote locations. Although a difficult feat by itself, locals in Tortuguero have adapted to the unpredictable climate and torrential downpours as well.

Living within flourishing wetlands and the vibrant jungle, the Laguna Lodge puts in extra efforts to remain sustainable by preserving the land and protecting some of nature’s most bio-diverse ecosystems. Some of the Lodge’s sustainable efforts that we learned about include:

Displaying the eco-friendly bleaches

• Biodegradable product usage
• Beach cleaning programs
• Tortuguero national park regulation policies and wildlife management policies such as don't feed, don't touch
• Eco friendly bleaches: Eerva and Zeobrite
• Water management programs - filter system to avoid pollution into water
• Solid waste classification at Tortuguero recycling center
• Use of hydroelectric power and geothermal energy from volcanoes 

Laguna Lodge goes beyond just reducing their carbon footprint by educating students and tourists to help accelerate the environmental changes. The lodge even donated land for the construction of the Tortuguero high school demonstrating its commitment to the community. Unfortunately tourism, although having a large positive impact on the economy, is the number one contributor towards pollution, followed by the diesel used to transport the tourists and cargo. Not only does the combustion of fossil fuels pollute the water, but the heavy reliance on boats for transportation results in noise pollution to the natural habitats in the rainforest. Despite these byproducts of everyday life, Laguna Lodge is all about giving back to the community from welfare measures for the employees to a code of conduct against commercial sexual exploitation of adolescents. The Laguna Lodge also offers music programs to manifest involvement in the youth population to avoid prostitution.

Laguna Lodge is built on ethical business practices dedicated to preserving the land while supporting the community. Despite the greater expense associated with these initiatives they are still able to provide their guests a lovely stay. We enjoyed delicious meals with a beautiful view, a canal boat tour to learn about the native plants and animals, fun salsa lessons, relaxing pools and hammocks, sandy beach walks, and night star gazing. I think our whole group really enjoyed our time at the lodge while learning about their sustainability practices and the local community of Tortuguero.

Check out Laguna Lodge on Twitter! @Lagunalodgecr or on Facebook! And follow our Bryant Marketing Sustainability on Twitter! @BryantMKT421

Krysia Syska