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Adventure Life Offers Exclusive Trip

Study Leatherback Turtles in Costa Rica

San Francisco Chronicle
April 21, 2005

The Costa Rican Pacuare Nature Reserve recently began accepting visitors, and the US-headquartered Adventure Life is booking guests into the lodge. Founded 13 years ago to protect and study leatherback green turtles, the reserve accepts only six guests at a time, who work side-by-side with the reserve's biologists tagging and measuring adult turtles and finding and moving nests to protect eggs from poachers. The 1850-acre Pacuare Nature Reserve is a stunning tropical rainforest with four miles of deserted beach on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. Giant leatherback turtles nest along the beach from March to June, Green turtles from June to August. The reserve is one of the most important nesting sites in Central America for leatherback turtles.

The reserve's lodge overlooks the beach and a freshwater lagoon, which opens onto the main Tortuguero canal. Howler monkeys often provide a dawn chorus. Numerous species of birds, including toucans, nothern jacans, hummingbirds, parrots, oropendolas and boatbilled herons can be seen and heard in the forest along the wide canal lagoons. White-faced monkeys and three-toed sloths can be seen peering inquisitively from the trees above.

The itinerary is filled with wildlife and adventure while being flexible enough to accommodate the most adventurous souls, as well as those who prefer a more relaxed time. The customized itinerary includes rafting the whitewater of the Pacuare River (up to Class IV), studying turtles in the Pacuare Nature Reserve and jungle discovery and adventure in the Selva Bananito Reserve. This eight-day trip from San Jose, Costa Rica costs $1,345 per person, double occupancy.

Adventure Life also offers a similar trip with a stay at the 80-room Laguna Lodge, offering access to the green sea turtle nesting grounds of the Tortuguero National Park and a visit to the Turtle Museum of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. "Turtles and Rainforest - Tortuguero" costs $1,390 per person, double occupancy.

Adventure Life was founded in 1999 with a commitment to provide quality small group tours that have a positive impact on local culture and environment. With more than 40 adventures in South and Central America, Adventure Life's trips explore local culture, ecology and life, from remote villages to bustling city markets to the wildest jungles and mountains. The company's grassroots approach to travel utilizes local guides, family-run hotels and the local transportation infrastructure. Groups are rarely larger than 12. For more information, call (800) 344-6118 or www.adventure-life.com.