A Very Rainy Boat Tour Through The Tortuguero Canals and the Rainforest

           They don’t call it the rainforest for nothing!  Our class was given the opportunity to take a boat tour with the Laguna Lodge through the Tortuguero canals today in two different boats.  The rain decided to take the tour with us.  The tour involves an exciting journey through the canals on small motorboats while the diverse wildlife of Tortuguero surrounds the boats on both sides of the water.  Our Costa Rican tour guides explained much about the canals/rainforest including an in-depth look into its history.

Tortuguero Canals

         While boarding the boats, my classmates and I put on rain ponchos as protection from the torrential downpour that had been occurring since early in the morning.  We bore the true rain forest experience.  Once the journey began, it would only be a matter of seconds before we would see some of the wildlife the rainforest has to offer.  Over the course of the tour, we saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys, a sloth, basilisk, caiman, and many different species of birds.  It was truly a dream come true as I saw a sloth hanging from a tree eating leaves.  While viewing these animals that none of us are used to seeing back in the United States, we learned much about the exciting creatures from our tour guides.  I personally found the information about sloths the most interesting.  We learned that there are two different types of sloths, that being two-toed and three-toed sloths.  Three-toed sloths tend to remain closer to the ground while two-toed sloths live at higher altitudes.  Something I found particularly interesting was that sloths eat leaves and fruit, and only “go to the bathroom” about once a week.  They do this because they do not want their predators to know their location.  One way they do this is by covering up their waste once they are done.  Though the animals call the rainforest home, Tortuguero is home to people as well.

Look closely! A caiman in the leaves.

        There are about 2,000 people who live in the area.  The rainforest used to be a main area for people to come in and chop down trees for industrial purposes, but as of more recently, Tortuguero is an area that is completely safe from any industrial minds.  The population that lives there today is only there because they were living in Tortuguero before it was pronounced as an area of preservation.  Costa Rica, especially Tortuguero, is known for its unique position near the equator.  Our tour guide explained how all of the animals in the south travel north and vice-versa at a certain point of the year.  Due to its geographical position, Costa Rica acts as a pathway for these animals moving north or south.  This is why the rainforest is home to 100+ different species of plants and many species of animals.

            The canal tour is an experience that I would recommend to anyone, as it really opens your eyes about how being unsustainable can really harm such an amazing area.  It is astonishing how every person we have met in Costa Rica is extremely passionate about sustainability as it is a way of life around here.  Due to the rainforest and the enormous amount of agriculture in the country, Costa Ricans realize how important it is to avoid human-induced pollution as much as possible.  It is inspiring to view this way of life in person while the experience is also motivation for our class to go back to the United States and promote sustainable practices in our country.  If the world would realize the potential dangers of being unsustainable and commit to change, future generations could benefit tremendously.

One of the boats of students led by our tour guide Miguel!

 For more information about what our class has done in Costa Rica, please follow our blog.. You can also follow our classes Twitter account here as well as my own personal Twitter account.

Ronny Wagner

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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