Circumnavigating the Poás Volcano - Driving in Costa Rica

On a lazy Sunday morning, it was not our intention to drive around the base of the Poás Volcano (Volcán Poás in Spanish). But we ended up doing so. At the beginning of the day, our basic question to each other was "is there anything you want to do today?". We could laze around the house all day or take a drive somewhere - wherever.

With the help of Google, we discovered a place called Bajos del Toro located roughly northwest of the volcano. The area looked interesting. Google Maps indicated that it was about a 30 kilometer (19 mile), 1 hour drive from where we live (Hacienda El Paseo). The main roads were identified as routes 118 and 708.

The 1 hour drive time for the short distance involved ought to have been a warning. But, the message went right over our heads. At first, the roads were paved and fairly good. However, at one stage, road 708 deteriorated into steep switchbacks followed by rocky, bumpy sections narrowly grooved on the sides of a mountain. We slowly edged along these sections at walking speed and there was no real problem. But, had we encountered another vehicle moving in the opposite direction, then there would have been a problem. Somebody would have had to back up to a place having at least some shoulder room allowing the vehicles to pass. Who has the right of way in such circumstances? On a hill, I expect it would or should be the downhill driver.

The altitude where our doubts began was over 1800 meters (6000 feet) and the temperatures were much lower than further down. However, the road ultimately returned to pavement as we descended into Bajos del Toro.

It may be noteworthy that one commentator on the link provided above to Bajos del Toro described a "road from hell". She did not say that this was road 708, but I have little doubt that she was referring to road 708.

Bajos del Toro is an interesting place located in a river valley with waterfall landmarks and other amenities all around. We elected not to join with the many tourists who had obviously arrived from a different direction. Instead, we decided to take a break at a local restaurant (Catarata Rio Agrio).

Ceviche - a favourite. Also ordered mora bedidas (blackberry fruit drinks with milk).

It was so funny to see these dinosaurs up in the mountains.

While at the restaurant, we decided there was no way we would retrace our steps in the direction from whence we had come (from the south). But, we were using Waze (a navigational app that works on my smartphone) and the voice insisted that we go back the way we came. Ignoring those instructions, we headed north on road 708.

Northward, road 708 was paved and crossed back and forth across a small river several times. But, it was necessary to keep eyes open for the odd rough spots and potholes. We eventually emerged from the valley and were treated to some sweeping flatland vistas to the north and west. Along the way, we tested Waze two or three times for new directions but Waze kept telling us to turn around. Ultimately, road 708 terminated at an intersection with well paved east-west road 140. We decided that west was definitely wrong and turned east. Somewhere along 140, we tested Waze again and got the reply we were waiting for (keep going in the direction you are going, or words to that effect).

Frankly, at this point we had no idea where we were but once again we were trusting Waze. At a small village named San Miguel, we were guided from road 140 to road 126 heading south. Road 126 turned out to have several steep switchbacks but they were not problematic. The road was paved and generally in very good condition.

Eventually came a turn in the road where we were greeted by an impressive waterfall right on the edge of the road in front of us. We stopped along with many others who had parked on the roadside to take pictures.

Moving on a very short distance, we were surprised to happen upon La Paz Waterfall Gardens & Peace Lodge. Now we knew exactly where we were because we had been there before. But, we had seen the falls from a totally different vantage point from inside the Gardens and not from the road (see my blog entry on February 8, 2014).

The last leg:

The first time we were at La Paz, we drove from Atenas where we were living at  the time. If we were driving back to Atenas then we might have managed without Waze. But, we weren't. We were driving back to Hacienda El Paseo. So, we continued to rely on Waze without which numerous wrong turns undoubtedly would have doubled or tripled the drive time from La Paz. The directions from Waze now included roads 126, 120, 146, 118, then local. Road conditions ranged from very good to paved but narrow and marked by patches and some potholes.

When driving in Costa Rica, we have found Waze to be invaluable. But, Waze sometimes gets things wrong. I think Waze kept trying to turn us around on road 708 and part of road 140 by comparing the time in one direction with the time in the opposite direction. Problem is that this approach had no regard for the terrible conditions we encountered on part of road 708. As an aside, we were guided by Waze on one earlier occasion to a road so bad that we were compelled to turn around. A John Deere tractor might have managed, but not our Subaru Forester.

Restaurante Almendra Plant Based Cuisine

Recently we tried out a new restaurant with our friends Diane and John. It’s called Almendra Plant Based Cuisine and it’s vegan/vegetarian as the name implies. It’s near Atenas and in a really nice setting. Very good food and healthy too!

My drink - mojito - loaded with fruit.

Lance’s beer choice.

Menu items - lots of choices.

Some of the dishes we ordered - all good.

Passion fruit cheesecake - I really liked it.

Canada/Costa Rica - Are We Traitors?

Apropos of absolutely nothing, I was recently accused of “detesting Canada so much - the country that gave you the ability to live your current life style”. This was based on the totally erroneous and inaccurate assumption that - “if there was a crisis in Costa Rica, like the corona virus (sic), massive earthquake or some other disaster, you would not want to come back to Canada?” 

First, I don’t detest Canada - this is an out and out lie. Never have I said this. To say that this is how I feel based on nothing at all is totally outrageous and, quite frankly, makes me angry.

I like to poke fun at Canada, especially Ottawa where I was born. I can do this because I am a Canadian citizen. Canada’s weather stinks - but everyone knows that. Canada is an amazing country - and many people want to immigrate there with good reason.

Secondly - our current life style was not handed to us by Canada. We both worked hard for many years. We earned the life style we are living.

Both of us paid our taxes for years and years. We still pay Canadian taxes even though we live in a foreign country. So whatever Canada may have given us, we have given back many times over. We have never been a drain on the system. In fact, not living in Canada makes us less of a burden on the system then people who live there.

It was a lot of work and planning to make our dream come true. It appears that some people feel threatened or are jealous by what we did - left the country we were born in to move, sight unseen, to a country they had probably never heard of. The fact that it was a very successful move, for us, causes them more unease. Could they do the same thing? Or do they use Canada as an excuse to never have to find out if they could or not? They wave the flag and hide their fear behind it. They accuse us of detesting Canada. That is an insult. We must be traitors.

What is so wrong with wanting to try living in another country?  To experience a new culture, new language, new food, different climate, different people ..... what does this have to do with Canada? It’s a wonderful thing to take this journey into the unfamiliar. We have come a long way and are now not the people we were when we left in 2011. You may not recognize us - our viewpoints, our world beliefs. We discarded possessions and old ways of thinking and freed ourselves. We meet people here who are cut from the same cloth. They may move here permanently, or spend a few years exploring and then move on to another country and adventure or, they may choose to return from whence they came. It’s all good.

The culture of living in the same country, the same province, the same city, the same municipality and even the same house for years on end is something I cannot understand. But that’s just me and more power to those who live this life style. It must be comforting for them and I would hope that they are doing exactly what they want to do. 

In Costa Rica there are not yet any recorded cases of coronavirus. In Canada, I read that there have been several. If a case or cases did occur here, why would I choose to jump out of the Costa Rican frying pan into the Canadian fire?

With regard to massive earthquakes, I have already experienced one in Costa Rica. It measured around 7.5 and rattled on for a significant period of time but without any significant damage. Should I fear another and decide to return to Canada for that reason ..... oh, but wait, I cannot return to Vancouver. As you know, the "big one" is long overdue.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - January 2020

During January, visits to this blog were received from the following 17 countries:

There were no new countries and the overall total since November 2012 remains at 129 countries.

The following is a summary of weather for the month in the area where we live:

Compared to January 2019, January temperatures this year were a mixed bag. Average overnight low temperatures were a bit higher. Average daytime high temperatures were a bit lower. However, the hottest daytime temperature this year was lower than that in 2019 and the coldest overnight low temperature was lower than that in 2019. In fact, the coldest overnight low temperature (56°F, 13.3°C) in January 2020 was a record low for all the time we have exclusively lived in the Central Valley of Costa Rica in Vista Atenas near the town of Atenas and in Hacienda El Paseo near the city of Grecia.

With regard to rainfall, the amount in January this year was minimal and consistent with the so-called "dry season". However, there were 3 days of measurable rain (which is good for Costa Rica). Compare this with 0 days in January 2019.

January 2020 was also marked by continuing strong Papagayo winds - strong enough to blow down trees and throw around loose objects on patios, etc. These winds are nowhere near hurricane force but they are something that should be reckoned with.