Every time we spot a blue morpho butterfly tumbling down the air currents of a tropical canyon like a softball sized sapphire against an emerald green backdrop of rainforest foliage we get almost giddy with delight. I can't count the number of times I've almost broken my neck scrambling down … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2012
Meals & Gear Transcontinental
Community Gear List Back country food/cooking for eight days (see meals below for grocery list) 8 dinners (RAY – 4, ANDY – 3, CHRIS - 1) Water filters (RAY - MSR micro) (CHRIS - second filter) Chemical/peroxide water system (RAY) Water bag 20L this is so we can filter in camp instead of … [Read more...]
Tenorio Volcano Photos
Tenorio Volcano National Park is one of our favorite places. Clicking around Costa Rica Guide you'll see that it shows up on the top ten list, and a dozen other categories. The first time we tried to visit we never made it. If we'd known what we were missing we would have tried harder. The … [Read more...]
Tortuguero Photos
Tortuguero National Park is a photographer's dream. Except for that part where the canoe wobbles and you drop your 5D in the lagoon, and the incredibly dim lighting, and the tropical downpours that appear out of nowhere, and the complete darkness and flashes prohibited on the beach when the sea … [Read more...]
Turrialba Volcano Photos
The Lost Hikes at Turrialba Volcano National Park UPDATE: November 2020 - Closed to the public due to high levels of activity for most of the past decade, SINAC announced the reopening of portions of Turrialba National Park as of Dec 4, 2020. New restrooms and overlooks have been constructed and … [Read more...]
Airport Hotels – Skip ’em
The Top Hotels at SJO and LIR International Airports, Costa Rica ...reprinted from CostaRicaTop10 with permission of the author and publishers... Ninety nine percent of the time the right answer to the question “What’s the best airport hotel in Costa Rica?” is “none of them.” It’s quite … [Read more...]
Arenal National Park Photos
Arenal Volcano national park encompasses the impressive conical peak and surrounding lava fields as well as the extinct Cerro Chato and the lagoon in it's crater. There are a number of trails and it would be possible to hike from the ranger's station on the northern flank around to the west then … [Read more...]
Food Photos
Costa Rica is known for fresh tropical fruit, seafood and grass fed beef. Rice and beans are traditional staples, not just mixed together as they are in the national dish Gallo Pinto but also as ingredients and or sides in nearly every meal. Ethnic restaurants (beyond pizzerias which have always … [Read more...]
Gandoca Manzanillo Photos
Gandoca Manzanillo wildlife refuge has two distinct parts. The beaches of Manzanillo, Uva, Chiquita and Cocles are dotted with hotels, lodges, B&Bs, restaurants, bars and small businesses but south towards Gandoca after the end of the road is a whole other world. Accessible only on foot the … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Guidebook Reviews
We've been told that books are dead and you can find anything you want on the internet for free. Not true. Don’t have time to read all the insightful reviews below? See the executive summary. Selecting the best guidebook We’ve been traveling in Costa Rica mapping the country for over two … [Read more...]
San José Bus Station Map
Not what you wanted? See -> Bus Route and Schedule Information - San José, Airport and Metropolitan Area Like the Gare d'Austerlitz, Lyon, Nord and other train stations in Paris you need to find the correct bus station in San José depending on your destination. The big difference is that … [Read more...]
Bus Schedule
Public buses may be a great way to get around Costa Rica if you've got the time to explore. They go almost everywhere - even some places you might have a hard time driving a rental SUV. If you can figure out the maze of private companies and overlapping routes then buses are frequent, plentiful … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Bus Routes
Accurate comprehensive list of every current bus route in service in Costa Rica and the company that operates it. We download the data from the government licensing agency Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP), filter out about 30,000 lines and 20 columns of regulatory crap to … [Read more...]
Secret Beaches of Costa Rica
Semi-Secret Beaches Semi-secret beaches are our favorites. They aren’t totally deserted – some of them even have a few little houses, some residents and maybe a bar, soda, or restaurant but if you ever see more than ten people per mile of sand on any of these playas that would be considered a … [Read more...]
Gambling on Arenal Volcano
It's really a long shot now. The article below is one we used to maintain when you used to be able to see lava flows on Arenal Volcano. It's not impossible that it will come back to life any day but it quieted down to an occasional puff in 2009 and hasn't made so much as a peep for six … [Read more...]