Tortuga Bay
March 26th
Today, I took my time getting up as I don’t have any major plans for today. I checked out the castle which is actually quite interesting architecture. The gentleman that built it used volcanic rock and it took him over 2 decades to complete. Quite an interesting design. Now, I know it sounds spectacular, but I have to state that I found bugs in the room every single day ... not just little ones. I was worried if I slept too heavily that they would carry me and the bed away. Many a times I ended up seeing one scurry across the floor ... I would stomp and then open the door and kick it out into the hallway.
After attempting to download many of my previous blogs I was not making any headway and decided to head out to explore the town.
I took a walk around 3pm and stopped at a Supermercado to buy some groceries and beer. This was the biggest supermarket in town, but the prices were unbelievably high. I took my groceries back to the hostel and put them in the fridge. I then went back to my room to attempt to download at least one photo … still no luck.
At about 7pm, I decided I better go for a walk to avoid frustration. I walked back down Main Street and checked out a couple restaurants along my walk. On the third restaurant I was about to check out the menu when the waiter came up to me and told me they have a special on. As I listened, I was not sure I heard him right, but he repeated that they are giving 3 beers for the price of $10.00. I didn’t get a chance to see the menu but I was quick to take a seat and order the beer. LOL
Near the end of my meal, the entertainment came on with a gentleman playing the saxophone. He was pretty good I must say and was enjoyable to listen to while drinking my third beer.
After leaving the restaurant, I shook hands with the sax player and thanked him for the great music. I headed over to the main wharf to check the water for any fish. There were a few tropical fish under the lights. I looked up to see a Pelican sitting on the fence right beside me. I had to do a little video of this guy, as I did not see him fly up.
I walked around the town for a while exploring some of the side streets and eventually came upon one street that was loaded with people sitting at tables in the middle of the street. Apparently, at a certain time of the night they close this street off and serve fish among other food. It was extremely busy.
March 27th
This morning I got up at 7am and had breakfast close to 8am. I took a short cut along a path that connected to the main path that goes to Tortuga Bay. I walked up the stairs and at the kiosk had to sign in. I was filling in the time and looked at his clock and it said 7:30am … I thought this was wrong and put in 8:30am. He quickly corrected me and told me that his clock was the right time. For the last couple of days I had been getting up at 7am when I thought it was 8am. LOL
From the hostel it is about a 5 to 10 minute walk to the kiosk. From the kiosk to the beach it is about a 30 to 40 minute walk along a brick path.
Saw many strange cacti along the route along with birds and lizards. The cactus is very important to the finch in this area.
I finally reached the beach but was stopped by a young lady who informed me that the turtles have laid some eggs on the beach in about 12 places. They are fenced off and she asked me to please stay away from them as if you get close the packing of the sand will avoid them from getting out. I thanked her and walked along the ocean.
I walked for about 20 minutes and came to the end of the first beach called Playa Brava. At the end of this beach was a rocky island and I took a few photo’s of pelicans that were standing there.
As I walked a few more feet I saw an iguana by the water’s edge.
I took a few photos and then saw a heron near the bushes and I took some more photos.
I then looked up to see a pelican sitting in the tree just above me … I took a few more photo’s. This was a very photogenic spot. LOL
I started to walk over to the other beach called Playa Mansa. Walking the short distance to this beach I encountered an area that had many iguana’s … I took many photo’s. I then headed over to Playa Mansa.
This beach, the water was very calm. Under some trees they had poles in the ground with branches of poles coming out of it to put your clothes and all personal items on. It was quite a great idea. Also, there were some benches you are able to sit on under the shade. This was a nice touch as it was extremely hot today. I went for a short swim and quickly dried in the shade. While sitting in the shade I watched some birds diving into the water for fish. I saw fish actually leaping right out of the water about two to three feet … that was different to observe.
After about 3 hours I started to make my way back along the beach. I again stopped at the end of Playa Brava and took some more different shots of the heron and the many iguanas. I stopped along the Playa Mansa beach and took photos of the pattern left in the sand from a huge sea turtle. These tracks were fresh from this morning ... wish I could have witnessed this.
It took me about an hour to get back to entrance to the brick path. Walking along the brick path at 11:30am is not a good time to be walking. It was extremely hot and I was so glad I brought my water. The sweat just poured off me and by the time I got back to the hostel, my shirt was drenched. A good time to do some wash, have a shower and relax in the room until it cools down.
This evening I went out to check on taking a cruise boat that takes you to different islands in the area. I just missed a deal on a 4 day cruise that hits some pretty neat spots. Trouble is I would have to be ready in 15 minutes … not a chance that was going to happen. So I visited a few tour shops to find out what the going price is for day tours. It turns out that I can do different island tours for around 100.00USD. In other words, I can see four different islands for around 500.00USD doing day trips, but if I took the cruise for four days it would have cost me 1000.00USD and that is as a last minute price! No, I don’t think so. Hahaha