STORY: Our First Crocodile Tour

Meet Osama Bin Laden!

Yes, that's the name given this guy by the tour boat operators who work on the Rio Tarcoles on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. George Bush is also among the crocs. The Tarcoles is a large river that runs from the Central Valley all the way down to the Pacific. 

There is a famous "Croc-viewing" bridge that crosses over it between Orotina and Jaco. Thousands of tourists stop and walk out to the middle of the bridge to see the crocs. Tourist police stand by their cars or motorcycles at the end of the bridge to help keep tourists from getting run over,  and make sure no one gets robbed. Several souvenir stands grace the other end. 

I had been following Jose's Crocodile Tours on Facebook for a few months, and even asked Jose's permission to paint a painting from a photo of a Great Blue Heron that his wife had shot. So, after following his posts and planning to go on the tour one day, that day finally arrived. What pushed me over the edge was a visit from my old school day's friend, Joe Tippett, and his wife Cyndi. The river was only about twenty minutes from our home near Playa Hermosa, so we booked our places and arrived at noon on a Saturday. Jose said that would be the best time because the high tide would allow the boat to go all the way to the bridge. We were worried about noon being the hottest time of the day, but we enjoyed the cool breeze associated with the water.

Jose is a cool guy and the perfect guide. His English was also perfect. I would recommend his tour to anyone coming to the Pacific coast.

Jose's buddy, Jimmy drove the boat most of the time and was elected to feed the crocs. Jose's no dummy.

Here's the dock where we caught the boat. There is a big souvenir shop with restrooms about a hundred yards farther down. Jose's boat was perfect for its purpose, clean and trustworthy.

So, we're off! You can see the life jackets placed above us and within easy reach.

Another tour boat passes by while we're looking at some birds. Hey... they all have their life vests on! Hmmm, do they know something we don't. Well, we look cooler without them on any way. I'd say the only one on their boat that needs one is the guy hanging his butt off the side while they are running.

George Bush here would love to get a piece of that!

We passed a lot of birds on the way to where the crocs hang out by the bridge. Jose was great at telling us all about them. Jose slowed down near a muddy bank and started whistling. Soon a bunch of hawks and other birds came flying down to the water's edge where we pulled up. Jose and Jimmy tossed them some small pieces of chicken, and they hung around close enough to the boat where we could take some good photos. Here is a sampling of those:

Jose said that these yellow-footed Egrets dangle their feet in the water to attract fish.

We went a little farther and Jose pulled over to the muddy bank to who us this Jesus Christ Lizard. They call him that because when he is scared he has the ability to go so fast across the surface of water that it looks like he is "walking" on it. He blended in well with his surroundings, but Jose saw him anyway. We didn't scare him though.

How close to the edge would you go to get the best grass in the field? Jose told us that sometimes these cows become a meal to the crocs when the bank gives way and they fall in.

Lots of beautiful horses just down from the cows.

It has been awhile since I have even been on a boat. The wind, the sound of the water and the lack of the motor sound was great. Jose has a Suzuki four-stroke, so it hardly makes any noise. Perfect for tours.

We passed this log and I noticed these two tiny birds. They could only have been about two inches long.

Now we've reached the bridge where all the crocs hang out. These two took notice and are coming into the water.

Jimmy got out with a quartered chicken and started tapping the water with it. A crowd always gathers on the bridge when a tour boat starts the entertainment.

Here's a taker. Obviously, Jimmy has done this many times and is very careful... if you can call it that.

Jose says they like to feed this little guy because he makes the best snapping sound when he's going after the chicken. And he did, over and over again. Finally he gets the chicken after a lot of work. Jose told us to sit down and keep our arms in the boat. What a good idea? Some of us had some pretty white skin that looked a whole lot like chicken...

We fed several crocs that day and it was very exciting. On the way back we pulled into a mangrove for a look at that ecosystem. It was quiet except of the sounds of birds. After going in a quarter of a mile or so, Jose pulled into a narrow cut.

The Mangrove Trees send their roots down into the water to create this unusual effect. Jose pointed out the little crabs who lived in the thousands of holes on the bank.

Joe took plenty of photos, as did all of us.

We returned to the dock with all our limbs. The two hours had gone by way too fast. It was a fantastic tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you would like to book a tour, contact Jose.

His website is:

http://www.crocodilerivertour.com/index.html

Or on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/crocodilerivertour

Now here's a video present for those of you who had the patience to read all the way to the end: