The Turtles of Ostional

Beginning with Playa Pelada in Nosara, the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge spans 248 hectares and runs north for 15 kilometers. This refuge was created for one reason, to protect the Olive Ridley Turtle or Lora, as it is affectionately known in Spanish.

The Pacific Ridleys, like that of their Atlantic cousin, the Kemp’s Ridley Turtle, are the only turtle that come ashore in mass to lay their eggs and do so on only 9 beaches in the world. Ostional is the largest nesting beach for the Pacific clan and its importance to the survival of the Olive Ridley’s is without measure.

Beginning with the last quarter of the full moon in July, these magnificent creatures haul themselves ashore at night during a high tide in numbers that are staggering. During the peak (August/September) of the arrival, arribada, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of over 150,000 Ridleys in search of a spot to dig out their nest and lay their eggs. So condensed is the concentration that they literally crawl all over each other with the sound of massive turtle shells and flippers clashing against each other, all in the dead of night. The product of all this is a deposit of over 15 million turtle eggs and the turtles do not just leave after this, in fact, they hang around offshore, mate again and return to the beach. For how many times, no one really knows.

The nesting area is open to the public for viewing. Walking around, stepping over and looking down on one of these creatures is all part of the greater Nosara experience. To take part in this you will need to drive north out of Nosara and ford the Rio Montana and then after five kilometers you will arrive at the Asociacion Desarrollo Integral de Ostional ranger station (Tel:2682-0470). There is a nominal entry fee of $8 and you will be required to have a guide at an additional cost of around $7.

Timing is everything. Mostly at night, the Ridleys will use the high tide so as to minimize their crawl to the higher ground. As each high tide arrives the numbers ebb and flow. Local information is the key for when the arribada will be at the peak. Because many of the people of Ostional work in Nosara, simply asking around or a phone call or two is usually all one needs to do. Even if you do not get to see the grande arribada, any high tide occurring at night will produce stunning numbers. (Not like 50,000 turtles is a let down!)

Logistics: While the trek to Ostional may appear be a quick and easy journey the Rio Montana may feel differently. The green season (code name for rainy season) for the area is September and October. With the rains comes the rise in the runoff from the mountains above Nosara. The Rio Montana is simply one of the bigger escape routes for the rain water and there are others between Nosara and Ostional just not as pronounced and unforgiving to those trying to cross.

There is a foot bridge large enough for a four wheelers and motorcycles to cross the Rio Montana as the locals do have to get to work. The problem may in fact be the other lesser streams. Ask around if people are able to get to and from Ostional and Nosara and by what means. Regardless of the month, the amount of rain greatly affects travel in all of Costa Rica and especially roads like the one north of Nosara.

One smart thing to do is do a reconnaissance trip in the day time. (Remember you will be trekking to see the turtles at night!) Go down to the Rio Montana and sit and wait. See if any of the commercial trucks who drive this everyday are crossing. Observe their wheel height and the route they take. Generally speaking only four wheel drive vehicles with enough clearance to keep the vehicle body out of the water should try and ford a river and never without knowing the crossing route.  Even after all this it may be a good thing to wade the crossing first. Look for water on the road leading into and out of the crossing as this is a sign of recent crossing activity and if in doubt, don’t.