On the road

Thursday, May 30, 2009; headed down south

Paulette and I made a stop at the HiperMas for groceries and we left San Jose about 6pm to head down south but we got hung up in traffic. There are people selling everything along the roads in Costa Rica, almost anywhere traffic slows down you can buy anything from phone cases and phone chargers to juice and fresh fruit.

Piña? No gracias. Teléfono caso, cargador? No gracias. Chances (lottery ticket)? No gracias? Cigarro? No gracias.

Driving can be rough in Costa Rica and you have 2 choices getting out of the city when heading down south; mountains or ocean.

Along mountain route the roads are winding, driving through the cloud forests the visibility can be bad on a good day and it is easy to get caught behind slow moving trucks.

Along the ocean route, after you pass by a couple big tourist towns, Jaco Beach and Quepos, the next 30 miles along the Costanera Highway are unpaved and can get a bit rough, dusty and slow. Many of the bridges are being replaced but every now and then you run into an "Oh my God Bridge." The roads also have improved but you still need to take it slow on a good part of that trip.

On the upside, during the day the view on the mountain route is breath taking and along the ocean route you can swing by the beach, pick up some KFC and you pass through some pretty cool old towns. Unless you are terrified of heights both routes are worth taking.

My best advice is take your time, drive during the day and enjoy the sites. On that note, I do not always follow my own advice; we took the mountain route at night. Since we got out of town at about 6pm as the light as we were stuck in traffic was sweet, in a half hour we were in the dark and clouds. For most of the next 4 hours it was white knuckle driving.

All gas stations in Costa Rica are full service. Just a few years ago no matter where you stopped they would check your oil and wash your windows. Now that is very spotty, if you ask they will clean your windows.

After a stop in San Isidro for fuel and McDonald's we rolled into Tres Rios at about 10:30 pm.

-john

all photos © John Konstantaras