Parismina

So after Paos, we went here. If you have heard of Tortuguero it is pretty much the same thing only a little smaller.  Parismina is a small remote beach village that is only accessible by boat because there are no roads through the jungle to get there.  We had to drive for hours down a terrible dirt road past miles of banana farms.

We were in a rental SUV, but in the future I would probably just take the bus.  Then we parked the car in a secure lot and took a boat the last 15 minutes to Parisminas.  We barely caught the last shuttle. It was a wide river with some pretty birds along the shore and you could hear monkeys in the trees.

 Once we got there we looked for somewhere to eat and then somewhere to sleep.  There was really only one small "restaurant", and the fast food options were unimpressive.  Burgers, fries, chicken fingers, etc.

There were several different hostels there.  They were all about the same, a simple room with a bed and a fan for $10 per person.  No hot water, not that we needed it, it was hot enough. This is what our room looked like.

After we checked in we strolled through the small village to check out the beach real quick in the daytime.  We'd be seeing plenty of the beach later that night.

Parismina and Tortuguero are both part of a turtle protection program.  It is a national park and no one is allowed on the beach without a guide, also there is an entrance fee which goes toward helping fund the program.  Sea turtles are in danger because of poachers who steal the eggs, but the program also protects the eggs from dogs and other predators that would eat the babies/eggs.  Every night volunteers go out and patrol the beach.  When they find a mother laying they wait for her to leave then they take the eggs and bring them back the to hatchery. 

We joined a patrol shift that night. I think it was about 10:00 pm when we headed out for turtle watch.  We knew our chances for seeing turtles were good because it was a full moon.  It was a beautiful night.  Max was asleep in the carrier on Ivan's back.  Within 30 minutes we came across a trail and sure enough there was a mama turtle up on the beach digging her hole.  The guide asked us to give her some space while she prepared the hole then he came and got us.  There were about 10 of us in the group.  We gathered quietly around the big beautiful mama turtle, careful not to startle her, and watched as she laid 97 eggs. It takes so much strength for a creature of that size and build to drag herself up onto the shore, across the beach and dig a hole with her fins, you could feel her power and determination.  I bet she was exhausted when she finally made it back to the sea, as a fellow mother I know how she must have felt.  It was incredible and spiritual in the quiet moonlight looking into her face. We weren't allowed to take pictures but I found some that look pretty much how I remember it, only it was night time.

By this time I was ready to put my pregnant but to bed and Ivan was not sure he could go another 2 hours with Max on his back (who had slept through the entire thing, despite my best efforts to wake him) So I headed back to my room and Erik carried Max for me.  Ivan and Karina continued on with the group and when they found another batch of eggs the guide let the hold and tough the ones that were already dead.  Karina said they felt leathery.

It was a quick stay in Parisminas and we were in the 5:00 am ferry back to the car.