Tortuguero to Cahuita -March 16.

A five hour journey in an open boat with luggage thrown into the front seats and people thrown into the back. Um! Interesting experience. The crocodiles sunning themselves on the sandbanks were rather too close for comfort, as were the dangerous riptides of the Caribbean sea, which at times was only yards away.
Nervous at lack of facilities I refused breakfast, good idea to avoid motion sickness but bad idea in terms of hunger and dehydration. Perpetual traveller’s dilemma. Luckily we stopped half way at a shack for toilet and biscuit break which also gave my aching bottom a break.

Heading off, that's my Xmas pressie case onboard!

The river runs perilously close to the sea...

The speed varied from very fast, swerving around blind curves, the spray drenching us and the luggage, to painstakingly slow as parts of the river are silted up. As usual the boat was overloaded so going aground was a regular feature, at which point we all followed shouted Spanish instructions on which side to lean. Given the proximity of the crocodiles no one was very keen on being at their eye level.

Looks wide but is very shallow, had to row this section!

There are tributaries everywhere, we wove in and out, twisting and turning, through national park territory with not a house insight bar our 'service station' stop until we arrived in the port of Limon. Suddenly an enormous container ship veered into view as we chugged into the harbour side.
Moin is a bustling shipping town with, according to our taxi driver, a famous football club. Luckily I d been able to fix a shared ride to Cahuita, 90 mins away, but our driver came from Moin and was determined to show us the sights of his brightly coloured Caribbean birthplace so we got a guided tour of its multi hued wooden architecture.

By the time I finally dropped my case in my new Cabinas I was exhausted but delighted with my new pad, a brick built cabin spotlessly clean set in beautiful gardens. And a great welcome: a sloth and her baby almost within touching distance of my door. Awesome.

Sloth ( and baby)