Day 1. Tuesday April 12. Meet and Greet at Mile Zero

Distance = 7 km (4.2 miles)

Four of us were picked up at our hotel in San Jose’ by Juancho our UrriTrek guide, and we made the 3 hour drive to Goshen dock. There are no roads beyond this point so we traveled down the heavily forested Madre de Dios River canals in a boat  Even on this brief ride, there was a lot of wildlife to see and hear, including howler monkeys, herons, a family of bats sleeping in a straight line on a tree and a large crocodile.

Goshen Dock

A boat ride in the Tortuguero canals

We docked at Lirio Lodge where we met the rest of the hiking group who had arrived earlier.  After lunch, we boated across the lagoon to the Pacuare Reserve and Mile 0 of El Camino de Costa Rica. We all stuck our feet into the water of the Atlantic to celebrate the start of our adventure, and then we walked down to the beach taking in all the wildlife that lives in the area where the sea meets the jungle.

The beginning. Feet in the Atlantic Ocean

The Mile O signpost of El Camino de Costa Rica

Before dinner we had a happy hour where we drank some wine and shared stories about ourselves and our past travel. This is going to be a great group to walk the Camino with. Three men and eight women who come from all over the US (Iowa – not Ohio, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Virginia, New York, and Tennessee) and Canada (Ontario). We range in age from 50 to the mid-70’s, with most 60-ish. We are all very experienced hikers and have the right attitude and humor to take on whatever comes.  After dinner I went to bed early, while the others returned to the beach to hunt for sea turtles coming in to nest. Some tracks were seen but alas, no turtles.