The lodge's restaurant is located at the river dock so you can be entertained by the wildlife as you eat. The chef, Valentin, specializes in local and international dishes. Designed to blend into the river environment, the pool features an environmentally-friendly purification system that uses an undetectable amount of salt instead of commercial chlorine. Its Botanical Gardens feature palms, orchids, and heliconias. The best way to explore the forest is by boat, paddling slowly and silently along the rivers and observing wildlife. Originally intended to protect a major nesting beach of the Atlantic green sea turtle, Tortuguero National Park now protects 51,870 acres, one of the last large areas of tropical rain forest in Central America.