Drugs, Guns… and Eggs?
“She’s got eggs!” shouted the police officer behind mirrored aviators from the bow of the boat. Dressed in dark blue SWAT-style fatigues, the officer held up a wet, woven plastic sack at arm’s length.
Costa Rica authorities seach a boat in Tortuguero for "drugs, guns & eggs".
I was in one of the three water taxis departing Tortuguero, Costa Rica at 11:30 a.m. which were all stopped mid-stream. Blocking the river was a boat named “Tiburón,” shark in English, manned by six, dead-serious officers. A far cry from the police you usually see walking around the capital in uniforms two sizes too big, these five men and one woman wore a well-trained air as well as uniforms that fit. Jumping onto each vessel, the officers went through every bag on the boat.
All passengers were cooperative and quiet. Before the eggs were discovered, a man in his fifties had asked what the officers were looking for. The response: “Drugs, guns and eggs.”
The woman was smuggling protected American green sea turtle eggs, a species which is just finishing its nesting season in Tortuguero. Elegantly dressed in a red sequined tank and black pants, the woman sat quietly. Her twenty-something son called out from the back of the boat in English: “Ask them why you are being arrested.” (Many locals on Costa Rica’s Caribbean speak Creole English.) The officer pointed at the bag and then motioned for her to get into their boat.
Silent, she looked back at her son who was holding a small child wrapped in a white blanket and then stepped into the “Tiburón.” The police boat’s captain was the only officer without shades. His whitish skin pulled tight against his angular jaw. A crew cut was visible from underneath his black cap which read “POLICE” in yellow. With thin pursed lips, the captain stood tall and clenched his clipboard while he wrote down the name and ID number of the water taxi driver.
The road to and from Tortuguero, Costa Rica is via water taxi.
The boats separated and we continued down the river. Nobody spoke a word about the incident, not even a whisper.
In some areas of Costa Rica such as Playa Ostional, limited harvest of sea turtle eggs is allowed for local consumption. In many cultures, as people will explain to you in Ostional, sea turtle eggs are considered an aphrodisiac.
source: nomadicnarrative.com
Interested in more information on Tortuguero, Costa Rica? goto: Tortuguero – Costa Rica’s Caribbean North wildlife wonderland
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2009
Filed Under: Activities • Blogs • Boating • Conservation • Costa Rica Culture (Cultura) • Drugs (Drogas) • Eco • Education • Endangered Species • Firearms (Armas de Fuego) • Fuerza Pública - Costa Rica National Police • Government • Guardacostas - Costa Rica Coast Guard • Laws • Life • Limón Province, Costa Rica • Living in Costa Rica • Location • Ministerio de Seguridad Publica - Security Ministry of Public Safety • Policía de Control de Drogas (PCD) - Drug Enforcement Police • Sea Turtles • Sea Turtles • Sightseeing • Tortuguero National Park (Parque Nacional Tortuguero) • Tourism • Tours • Transportation
About the Author: ¡Hola mi amorsh ... Bienvenidos "The Costa Rica Frog"!
I was born and raised in beautiful Costa Rica, Central America. Both me and my country find it's not easy being small and green, but we're trying hard every day.
¡Pura Vida!
