• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

BUS

Local buses depart from the pulpería (corner grocery store) by the soccer field. Traroc buses depart for Nicoya (₡800, two hours) at 5am, 7am, noon and 3pm. Empresas Alfaro buses going to San José (₡4500, five to six hours) depart from the pharmacy by the soccer field at 12:30pm.

For ₡150 any of these buses will drop you off at the beach. To get to Sámara, take any bus out of Nosara and ask the driver to drop you off at la bomba de Sámara (Sámara gas station). From there, catch one of the buses traveling from Nicoya to Sámara.

CAR

From Nicoya, a paved road leads toward Playa Sámara. About 5km before Sámara (signed), a windy, bumpy (and, in the dry season, dusty) dirt road leads to the village (4WD recommended). It’s also possible to continue north (in the dry season), to Ostional, Junquillal and Paraíso, though you’ll have to ford a few rivers. Ask around before trying this road in the rainy season, when the Río Nosara becomes all but impassable.

Return to beginning of chapter

REFUGIO NACIONAL DE FAUNA SILVESTRE OSTIONAL

This 248-hectare coastal refuge extends from Punta India in the north to Playa Guiones in the south, and includes the beaches of Playa Nosara and Playa Ostional. It was created in 1992 to protect the arribadas, or mass nesting of the olive ridley sea turtles, which occurs from July to November with a peak from August to October. Along with Playa Nancite in Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, Ostional is one of two main nesting grounds for this turtle in Costa Rica.

The olive ridley is one of the smallest species of sea turtle, typically weighing around 45kg. Although they are endangered, there are a few beaches in the world where ridleys nest in large groupings that can number in the thousands. Scientists believe that this behavior is an attempt to overwhelm predators, which contributes to increased species survival.

Prior to the creation of the park, coastal residents used to harvest eggs indiscriminately (drinking raw turtle eggs is thought to increase sexual vigor). However, an imaginative conservation plan has allowed the inhabitants of Ostional to continue to harvest eggs from the first laying, which are often trampled by subsequent waves of nesting turtles. By allowing locals to harvest the first batches, the economic livelihood of the community is maintained, and the villagers in turn act as park rangers to prevent other poachers from infringing on their enterprise.

TRACKING TURTLES

Since 1998 Programa Restauracíon de Tortugas Marinas (Pretoma; Marine Turtle Restoration Program) has collaborated with locals to monitor turtle-nesting activity and the operation of hatcheries in order to guarantee the efficient protection of nesting sea turtles and the production of hatchlings. Members of the community are hired as field assistants, and environmental education activities are held with the children in town. The project also involves tagging, measuring and protecting nesting turtles, which has resulted in a drastic reduction in poaching levels.

At the time of writing, Pretoma was operating projects in Playa Ostional, Playa San Miguel, Playa Costa de Oro (on the central Pacific coast) and Punta Banco, near the border with Panama. For more information on volunteering, visit the website at www.tortugamarina.org.

Rocky Punta India at the northwestern end of the refuge has tide pools that abound with marine life, such as sea anemone, urchin and starfish. Along the beach, thousands of almost transparent ghost crabs go about their business, as do the bright-red Sally Lightfoot crabs. The vegetation behind the beach is sparse and consists mainly of deciduous trees, and is home to iguanas, crabs, howler monkeys, coatis and many birds. Near the southeastern edge of the refuge is a small mangrove swamp where there is good bird-watching.

Return to beginning of chapter

Activities

Mass arrivals of nesting turtles occur during the rainy season every three or four weeks and last about a week (usually on dark nights preceding a new moon), though it’s possible to see turtles in lesser numbers almost