Travel Blog Costa Rica

Of the sea turtles the Olive Ridley sea turtle is the smallest with a length of only 70 centimetres and a weight up to 50 kilograms. It is named after the olive green colour of its shell. The Olive Ridley sea turtle can only be found on the northern Pacific Coast in Costa on Rica, where Playa Nancite and Ostional are their major nesting sites. Contrary to the other sea turtles like the Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green sea turtle and Loggerhead, which can also be found on the Caribbean beaches of Costa Rica. Although on the list of endangered species the number of Olive Ridley sea turtles seems to stabilize and the sea turtles can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The main threats for the Olive Ridley sea turtles, trawl fishing and the offshore oil and gas drilling is said to be responsible for the killing of more than 100,000 sea turtles in the last ten years. This is a result of the feeding habits of the Olive Ridley sea turtle. The omnivorous Olive Ridley prefer shallow waters closer to the shore to feed on crabs, shrimp, lobsters, sea grass, algae, snails, fish and small invertebrates. They can reach a depth of 150 metres. The Olive Ridley may be small, but is know for a ‘grand’ spectacle, the so called ‘arribadas. Thousands of female Olive Ridley turtles come ashore in large waves to share a relatively narrow strip of beach to nest. No explanation has been found for this phenomenon, but it is suspected that it has to do with wind direction and certain phases of the moon cycle. The Olive Ridley nest every season and with intervals from two to three weeks produce around 100 eggs per nest. After 50 to 60 days the eggs hatch and the newborn turtles rush to relative safety that the ocean provides. You can imagine how impressive that is, when thousands of nests from an ‘arribada’ hatch and tens of thousands little sea turtles emerge from the sand. Although the population on the coast from Costa Rica, all the way up to Mexico seems stable, the population on the Western Pacific (Surinam, French Guyana and Gyana) is reduced by almost 80%. India hosts the largest population with an estimated 400,000 female Olive Ridley’s nesting every year. The most effective protection measures that have been taken include the regulation of near shore trawl fishing and regulating the harvesting of the turtle eggs.

The Loggerhead sea turtle owes his name to its exceptional large head with strong jaws. The shell of the Loggerhead sea turtle is heart shaped and has short, thick flippers with claws. The Loggerhead, contrary to some of the other sea turtles, like the green sea turtle, the hawksbill and the leatherback strictly carnivorous. The main diet of the Loggerhead consists of crabs, shrimps, clams and other shellfish. Their habitat are tropical waters all over the world. In Costa Rica the Loggerheads come ashore in on the Caribbean beaches of Tortuguero and Parismina in the north of the Province of Limon. But also more south in the Talamanca region in the remote town of Gandoca close to the Panamanian border in the Gandoca – Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. The Loggerhead can weigh up to 160 kilos and measures somewhere between 70 and 107 centimetres. Its most favourite habitat are shallow waters of river deltas and the ocean. The Loggerhead sea turtle does not nest every year, they come ashore with a minimum interval of two years and make per season a number of nests that varies from four to seven. Every Loggerhead nest contains some 125 eggs that hatch after two months. Today it’s estimated that there only 44,000 females left worldwide and makes the Loggerhead sea turtle an endangered species facing extinction. Although the Loggerhead is the most abundant of the sea turtles, it lives in a habitat that is invaded by humans. Shrimp trawling has reduced the number of Loggerheads dramatically. The other threat comes from the disappearance of landing beaches. More and more beaches get contaminated with buildings and since the turtles only come ashore in the dark and are scared off by lights, unfamiliar smells and other disturbances. Thanks to the efforts to implement measures that secure sustainable development, sea turtle protection projects are in place and are a major tourist attraction. Now the locals work closely together with Costa Rica’s governmental organisation, international scientific institutes.

Costa Rica situated on the Central American isthmus between Nicaragua in the north and Panama in the south is a very remarkable country. The overwhelming rainforests, its sustainable development, astounding biodiversity and friendly people make it a very attractive holiday destination that has many attractions to offer. The friendly nature of its people is crafted by the intriguing pre-Colombian and more recent history. Starting off in pre-Colombian times the entire people of Costa Rica consisted of a wide range of interacting Indigenous tribes. After Columbus (Colon in Spanish) landed on the Caribbean beaches of Limon, things started to change gradually. The Indigenous tribes were pacified after their surrender and today Indians form only a meagre one percent of the entire population. When you compare the people of Costa Rica to those of other countries in Latin America it is very homogeneous. More than ninety-seven percent of the people is a mixture of native Indians and Spanish, the colonists and conquerors of Costa Rica. People with this mixture of blood are called ‘Mestizos’. Since the balance of the mixture tilts towards the European side, most people have a relatively white skin colour. After a contract was given away by the Costa Rican government in 1871 to construct the railroad from San Jose to Limon, they needed more people to work on it than there were available in Costa Rica. In the last three decades of the 19th century Afro-Caribbean people were recruited off the Caribbean islands such as Jamaica. Mostly settling in the Province of Limon, these people give the towns of Limon, Cahuita, Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo its famous Caribbean flavour. Afro-Caribbean people add up to two percent of the entire population. The indigenous people have taken the biggest hits during the economic development and only in 1977 a bill was signed to establish indigenous reserves. They had to wait till 1994 to get the right to vote. Today six Indigenous tribes survived living in twenty-two reserves distributed all over Costa Rica. How many people in total live in Costa Rica is not certain. Probably there are over three million people, but the flow of illegal immigrants, mainly from Nicaragua, cloud the statistics. The people of Costa Rica are peaceful, there hardly have been conflicts that needed to be settled by armed forces, so Costa Rica could afford the luxury to abolish the army in 1948. Compared to other Central American countries Costa Rica has a progressive social program, upholding minimum wages and a social security system, that created a huge middle class. Since education is free, illiteracy is low. With reason the people of Costa Rica are proud of their achievements which reflects in a enthusiastic form of patriotism, showing the Costa Rican flag, from bumper stickers to buildings and homes.