Briefcasing through Costa Rica: A Summary
Costa Rica feels like it is overflowing; like it is too small to contain everything it has within its borders. I’ve been briefcasing here for five months, and used my weekends to make my way all over the country.
The Central Valley
I landed at the Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alejeula in July 2018. I have been briefcasing in Costa Rica ever since. I’ve explored the country from my base in San Jose, starting with the central valley. Despite being in the middle of a tropical rainforest, an average elevation of over 1,100 meters above sea level provides the city with a pleasant (perfect?) year round climate.
San Jose
The capital city of Costa Rica is small (less than 300,000 people) and diffuse. Unlike many capital cities I’ve visited, it doesn’t have an obvious focal point (like Miraflores in Lima; the historic centre in Quito; or Zona T in Bogota). Instead, it is multi-nodal, with activity concentrated in different neighbourhoods and hubs. These hubs include: Escazu; Santa Ana; San Pedro; Barrio Escalante, and downtown. An anchor in the city is La Sabana Park which sits roughly at the centre and is the location of the national stadium (pictured below). I’ve lived and worked in Rohrmoser which borders the park to the west. It is home to a number of coffee shops, embassies, and a growing number of (a still small number of) medium and highrise apartment towers.
San Jose has a gritty feel about it. Not a seat of Spanish power in the Americas, it was ruled from what is today Guatemala. As a result it does not host a legacy of colonial Spanish architecture. Among the buildings that do draw the eye, the National Theatre of Costa Rica (pictured below) was built comparatively recently, in 1897. In the centre, most buildings are squat, and some are decaying. However, every now and again you’ll drive past a building elegantly adorned in thick vines, green year round (like the one in Barrio Escalante pictured below).
Heredia
If someone hadn’t told me, I might have thought Heredia, Alejeula, and San Jose were one in the same city. In fact, they are three cities nestled right up against one another in the Central Valley at the border of three of Costa Rica’s seven provinces bearing the same names. I’ll never forget my first day in Heredia when I wandered just north of San Rafael de Heredia to the Bosque de la Hoja. The road carves through a thick layer of skinny trees and climbs to spectacular look out points. At Baalbek I enjoyed a Mojito with a view of San Jose on one of my first days in Costa Rica.
Heredia’s city centre is a nice place for an early evening stroll. Grabbing a coffee at Entre Nous, I enjoyed walking down Avenida Central to the Cathedral and Nicolas Ulloa Central Park. September 15th was approaching so the buildings were draped in Costa Rica’s red, blue, and white for independence day. Local students were scattered all over the city with instruments practicing for performances and parades. As far as I could tell there seemed to be some sort of competition among them to practice at the most obscure spots.
Cartago
On a rainy Sunday morning I made my way to the Estacion del Atlantico for a train ride from San Jose to neighbouring Cartago. I had about 45 minutes to wait so I sauntered over to the nearby Parque Nacional. On the street corner, I spotted a colourfully painted building with an open window so I went over to peer in. A man from France cheerfully served me hot tea and a cinnamon bun which I nibbled on while waiting for the train.
Soon afterwards I was dozing on the train as it creeped its way towards Cartago. After about 45 minutes we rumbled into town, readied our umbrellas and hopped off. I ate Caribbean food and drank hierbabuena juice at La Tabla on Avenida 3. I then made my way to see the plaza and the Cathedral Nuestra Señora de los Angelas. Inside, I watched as devout Catholics of all ages struggled and prayed walking on their knees 25 meters from the last row of pews to the nave. After leaving the church I, in stark contrast, enjoyed a tea at the lovely La Dulce Armonia coffee shop. I was won over by the cute patio and adjoining bookshop! Meanwhile, looming over proceedings just North of Cartago is the Irazu Volcano.
Grecia
To the Northwest of San Jose and Alejeula, about 60 to 90 minutes driving, are the delightful little towns of Grecia and Sarchi. Wanting to get out of the city on a clear Saturday afternoon, off I went. Situated up in some foothills, Grecia is graced with pleasant breezy sunny weather. I walked the blocks surrounding the crimson red neo-Gothic 19th century Catedral de la Mercedes and central Grecia Park. A fountain provides ambience near the entrance of the Cathedral. I stood nearby and watched as the bells tolled and parishioners streamed into the young night after mass. Several families made there way past me to the small and charming Arte Latte Cafe y Restaurante. Latte already in hand, I found a spot on a bench near the gazebo in the park and people watched as the sun set behind me.
La Paz
The brilliant thing about San Jose and the Central Valley isn’t so much the cities themselves, but what surrounds them. La Paz is a good example. Just over an hour drive north from Rohrmoser in San Jose, the Rio La Paz thunders 37 meters into a pool below. I hugged the cliff and worked my way under and behind the waterfall. Water dripped down the soaked moss-covered rock walls behind me as I crouched for several minutes appreciating the view.
A few minutes up the road you can enter the La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park which features trails leading to a view from the top of the waterfall. You can also stay at the beautiful Peace Lodge with picturesque pools surrounded by forest. I made sure to stop at the Fresas del volcan to eat fresh strawberries soaked in dulce de leche.
Jaco
Just an hour and a half from downtown San Jose, Jaco is the closest opportunity to sink your toes into the sand on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. I went on a Friday after work and arrived after dark. The main street in the centre of Jaco was fairly busy. I was lured onto an outdoor patio for a piña colada by a singing duet. I need a second impression, but I was underwhelmed by a city that was rougher around the edges than I was expecting. On the other hand, I was thoroughly overwhelmed by the view (pictured below) from the Villa Caletas Hotel. The hotel is about 15 minutes up the hill from town. Even if you don’t stay there, the outdoor amphitheatre is a perfect place for a drink to watch the sunset with a fresh ocean breeze.
Santa Teresa
Almost directly West of Jaco across the gulf at the South of the Nicoya Penisula is Santa Teresa. Santa Teresa was the first place I visited in Costa Rica outside of San Jose. It lays along a dirt road traced through the rainforest a few meters from the beach. Locals surf at dawn, do yoga at sunset, and dance to trance-inducing electronic beats next to beach bonfires in the evening. Read more here about life along a dirt road in Costa Rica.
Montezuma
About 45 minutes south of Santa Teresa is the charming town of Montezuma. Not big by any means, the town had more of a city centre than Santa Teresa. I grabbed a pleasingly pink Pitaya (Dragon Fruit) flavoured ice-cream cone and wandered past beached wooden boats to a rocky beach with some friends. Earlier we had trekked through the thick forest following a river to the Montezuma waterfalls. While there we leapt from the rocks into the pools below.
Tamarindo
When I said that Costa Rica feels like it is overflowing, Tamarindo is a case in point. On the Pacific coast in the middle of Guanacaste Province in northwestern Costa Rica, the area is more developed than southern Nicoya. The town itself features a beach and plenty of other diversions. Right next to Tamarindo, you can cross the narrow mouth of a crocodile-infested river and go for a walk on Playa Grande. Here the waves leave stunning impressions on the sand as they make their repeated forays on shore. This beach (pictured below) was nearly deserted on the morning I ferried across to it with a local in a small boat.
A couple of bays to the North you’ll find Playa Flamingo, a picturesque and far less crowed spot to sit among the surf. Meanwhile, just over an hour south of Tamarindo is the Ostional Wildlife Refuge. Here hundreds of thousands of sea turtles arrive annually to lay their eggs in the black volcanic sand.
Manuel Antonio
I had never heard of Manuel Antonio before briefcasing through Costa Rica. Named for an obscure historical figure, Manuel Antonio National Park is a stunningly beautiful place. You can find it just south of the town of Quepos in the ambitiously shaped Puntarenas Province that stretches south encompassing much of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. The park itself is stuffed full of biodiversity and winding trails, some up hills to look-out points. It features a lovely whale-tail-shaped beach where monkeys mingle with visitors, helping themselves to their picnics.
Unfortunately these details are second-hand. On a glorious Sunday morning I decided to walk down the hill to the park from the palatial Selina Hostel. (This was perhaps the best accommodation I’ve ever stayed in that calls itself a hostel). Forty-five minutes later I was gripping the bars of a closed gate. The park has a daily entrance limit to protect the fragile environment. Disappointed but undefeated, I wandered back up to a beachside strip of shops and negotiated my way into a turtle-adorned beach blanket. Slinging my purchase over my shoulders I rented a reclining chair on Playa Espadilla and watched boats towing parasailers (pictured below). Then I drifted into a light sleep in the afternoon sun.
Puerto Viejo
Puerto Viejo is a small town in a bay near to the border of Panama in Costa Rica’s Limon Province. Limon covers the entire Caribbean coast of the country. I decided to try “glamping” (glamorous camping) and so stayed about 5 km up the road from town. After being swallowed by an enormous hammock for an hour on my first morning, it was off to rent bikes.
About half-way to Puerto Viejo we stopped for Rice and Beans, a traditional richly spiced dish served with salad and plantains. A short while later, we arrived in Puerto Viejo to find a parade in process (something that has happened to me a surprising number of times as I’ve briefcased around the world). Colourfully-dressed locals marched through the streets to a symphony of celebratory tunes to honour the “Dia del Negro y la Cultura Afrocostarricense”. Afterwards we made our way to the edge of town to watch the sunset. As the light faded, children built sandcastles, splashed, and laughed under the watchful eyes of their parents in the shallow calm Caribbean Sea.
Arenal / La Fortuna
Driving a few hours northwest from San Jose, I arrived in La Fortuna on Saturday September 15. The road was blocked by another parade. This one was expected. It was Costa Rica’s Independence Day. Women wearing white blouses and layered long red skirts with black and orange trim danced through the main street. Meanwhile, a group of men marched behind playing large white brass instruments and drums. They were wearing black with orange, red, and white accents. All the while, the perfect conical Arenal Volcano towered above. After the parade I went to bask in Arenal’s beneficence, soaking in the network of hot spring pools integrated into the environment next to the Arenal River at The Springs Resort and Spa.
A Final Thought
Everytime I put my briefcase down and hit the road for a weekend in Costa Rica, more places were added to my list. I think I left the country with a longer list of places to see than when I arrived. Hopefully in the new year I will find myself in the cloud rainforest of Monteverde, wandering further south down the Pacific Coast to Uvita and Dominical, and exploring Samara and Playa del Coco in Guanacaste. Reflecting and writing this summary reinforced my appreciation of what Costa Ricans are referring to with their unique and ubiquitous phrase: “Pura Vida”. And with that “pure life” on my mind I’m off north for a while, as ever, to continue the ceaseless pursuit.
