Ostional

Ostional Wildlife Refuge, or the Refugio Nacional Silvestre Vida Ostional, is located in Guanacaste. It is the most important turtle-nesting site of Costa Rica. It started as a 200-meter stretch along the beach and was extended to Punta Guiones later on. Since 1993, thanks to the new Wildlife law, the final definition of the refuge has been amplified to include a 3-mile long maritime zone as well. The protected area also spreads out 5 kms to sea. The turtles are not the only ones to benefit from this, as the other animals, both on land and in the ocean, are also under protection.

Ostional protects the Olive Ridley sea turtles, called Loras in Costa Rica, as well as the leather backs and the green turtles. The turtles come to nest all through the year, contrary to common belief, but between July and December is the only time you will encounter the spectacle of thousands of these turtles coming together on the beach at once. There is a name for this; it is called Arribadas. Arribadas take place various times during this period, usually at the start of the last quarter Moon, and each session lasts about a week.

It has been an ongoing battle for the turtles, between locals trying to steal the eggs and too many tourists gathering at night making too much noise. However, now that it is a protected area, the turtles are growing in numbers.

According to scientists, Ostional is the number one nesting site in the world for the Olive Ridley turtles, and in 1995, no less than 500 000 came to nest on that beach, a record so far. For those who are new to this, it is quite a sight to see a beach literally covered by thousands of turtles, coming and going with their slow, determined pace.

When the refuge was created in 1984, it came out with an excellent plan; locals are allowed to carry on collecting a certain percentage of the eggs for the first three days only of the nesting, thus, everyone being kept happy, there is no poaching! It was also observed that the first batches of eggs were destroyed by the turtles coming behind, so it all seems to make a lot of sense.

Playa Ostional is found between Punta India to the North, and Nosara and Playa Guiones to the South. The whole of the coastal road between Samara and Tamarindo is actually one of the best trips there is in this country. Most of the unpaved road follows the coast and the sea is always visible. It is a good idea to go beach hopping, and to try all the restaurants, sodas and hotels you may encounter on your way! Unfortunately it is only possible to do this in the dry season, between December and March/April, and during the month of July when the rains usually calm down. The roads are simply flooded during the rainy season, and the bridges are inaccessible too.

• Ostional Restaurants