We arrived Friday afternoon. We checked into our hostel called La Aurora which had a very tranquila atmosphere. We scoped out the town and walked along the beaches and went swimming. The next day we were scheduled to go snorkeling at Tortuga Island.
That night the four of us had deep conversations and really got to know one another which was nice. We also discussed our views of Montezuma as we were staying there. That evening when we were swimming at the beach, we noticed piles of trash and plastic trash scattered throughout the beaches. We took a twenty minute walk down the beach just to see cleaner sand.
We ran into two surfers who helped us get home because it had gotten very dark. The locals were very nice and helpful while we were there.
The next morning we headed out to Tortuga Island. I had been looking forward to snorkeling since the minute I arrived in Costa Rica. As we headed on the boat we passed piles of wood within the ocean. Wood that was not natural to the area.
Once we arrived at the snorkeling site I jumped right in! I was very excited. We started off looking for fish but since it is the rainy season the water was a bit murky. I ended up having to dive down, but once I did i saw multiple schools of fish, a sting ray, an eel, star fish, and other types of fish I do not know the names of.
I also noticed that we were swimming with trash. There was plastic and wood piles everywhere we swam. It was difficult for me to enjoy my time there, not because I felt dirty swimming with trash, but because I know that the wildlife in the sea has to swim with that trash all year round and it's only going to get worse.
The trash comes from the main river in Costa Rica. Trash piles up at the beginning of the river and during the rainy season the trash gets dragged out to sea.
Do not get me wrong Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a lot of wildlife. But what concerns me is how long will the wildlife have resilience to human waste.
Going to Montezuma opened my eyes. I am currently taking an Environmental track at school and these classes have gave me clearer lenses to see the destruction us humans have caused and are causing to the nature we live with.
We checked out the beach again and noticed a sign that asked for people to help pick up trash. My host family and other locals of San Jose told me during the summer the beaches are all cleaned up for the touristy season.
Does it always have to be like this? My friends and I want to go back to Montezuma and participate in a beach clean up. Hopefully we follow through
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