Costa Rica Northbound
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Belén Trailer Park (T239-0421), 2km west of the San Antonio-Heredia intersection on the Interamericana. Hot showers, laundry facilities, and nearby public buses to town. $10 / night.
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Villa Escazú (T228-9566), a B&B run by expatriate Americans, gourmet breakfast included, terraced gardens. US$35/$60 (single/double) per night. villaescazu@yellowweb.co.cr
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Colours Costa Rica
(T296-1880), a small gay hotel 10 minutes from downtown. Skinny
dipping in the pool. US$59-$109 / night. colours@sol.racsaco.cr
This portion of the route was prepared by Ron Lussier. Please contact him if you have any suggestions for Costa Rica.
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Destination: | Km: | Comments: |
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Apr 19 |
San Vito / |
46 |
We'll cross into Costa Rica from Panama at the border town of Paso Canoas on the Panamericana. We'll drive northwest to Ciudad Neily, and then north into the mountains towards the small town of San Vito (altitude 980m, and therefore cooler than the lowlands.) Founded by Italians, this town offers some first-rate italian food. 16km before we get to San Vito, we'll stop at Wilson Botanical Garden and see if they'll let us camp there. If not, we'll continue to San Vito, where we'll try to stay at the Cabinas Las Mirlas (T773-3054.) Clean cabins in an orchid for about US$5 per person. |
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Apr 20 |
División / |
159 |
Continuing northwest on CA 2, we'll pass through the city of San Isidro de El General, a fairly large and bustling farming town (pop. 40,000.) This is a good place to hit an ATM, get food or gas, and generally restock provisions. 28km further on is the tiny town of División. We'll turn west off the Panamericana here (at km 107) to the Avalon Reserva Privada (T380-2107), a 150 hectare reserve. This cloud-forest reserve is filled with high-altitude birds including quetzals and toucanets. There are hiking trails and good views of the mountains of southern Costa Rica. Camping is $6 per person and a private double room goes for $30. There is a hot tub, and massage is sometimes available. |
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Apr 21 |
San José |
108 |
A very short day's drive brings us to the capital city. We'll spend 2 days here, doing laundry, repairs, and seeing one of the friendliest capital cities in Latin America. Here are three options for places to stay depending on availability and how we're feeling: |
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Apr 22 |
San José |
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Apr 23 |
Fortuna |
159 |
Today we'll drive north to San Ramón (65 km), La Tigra (120 km), and finally Fortuna. The road is paved and winds through cloud forests and coffee fincas. We're detouring to Fortuna because it is the closest town to the very-active Volcán Arenal. This volcano emerged from dormancy in 1968 and has been continuously erupting since. This means huge ash columns, massive explosions, and glowing trails of lava visible in the evening. 12km west of Fortuna is the Balneario Tabacón (T256-7373, sales@tabacon.com), a natural hot springs. The Tabacón Resort charges $15 per person to soak in the 12 pools including a waterfall, slide, and swim-up bar. Volcanic mud masks, massages, and aromatherapy is also available. The exploding volcano is visible from the pools as well as the resort restaurant. 'Unofficial' camping happens inside the Parque Nacional Volcán Arena on the unpaved roads alongside the lake. A lakeside campground is planned. |
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Apr 24 |
Fortuna |
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If time allows, we'll stay a second day in the Fortuna area. |
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Apr 25 |
Parque Nacional Santa Rosa |
186
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Today we'll continue on, driving west from Fortuna to Laguna del Arenal, an artificial lake that supplies hydroelectricity for the area. The road is not well-maintained, and a 10-km stretch is gravel. The road continues around the lake through the towns of Arenal (relocated when the old town was flooded by the dam) and Tilarán. We finally arrive back at the Panamericana at Cañas after 96km of slow driving. Since Cañas is so boring, we'll continue north past Liberia for 35km to the Parque Nacional Santa Rosa. This park offers excellent wildlife viewing as well as good camping facilities. Camping fees are US$8 per person. There is a 4WD trail that goes 12km down to the coast. |
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Apr 26 |
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52 |
Today we'll cross over into Nicaragua following CA 1 northwards. |
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Total kilometers: |
710 |
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A lock indicates that this date and portion of the itinerary
is considered least likely to change.
