Over the Cordillera

It’s been hard to focus on a subject for this blog post because we’ve been on the go . . . sort of a road trip if you will.  We left Nuevo Arenal and spent six days traveling around before reaching our current location of Heredia.  We have visited small towns and circled around larger towns including San Jose (Costa Rica’s capital), seen large commercial plantations and small fincas, driven over the Cordillera Central mountain range and overlooked the beautiful Orosi Valley, seen Poás, Barva, and Irazú volcanoes, which ring the Central Valley.  Although this sounds like a huge road trip, distances are not great but driving times are very slow despite the fact that the Ticans drive very fast!

Volcan Poas

From Fortuna (elevation 839’) the road southeast crosses the broad flat San Carlos valley, through rich volcanic soil plantations growing mostly sugar cane, pineapple and tropical trees.  Views of the Cordillera Tilaran are off to the west and Cordillera Central to the south.  The mountains are impressive from these lowland areas.  Soon we begin to climb toward Ciudad Quesada, elevation 2152’, passing through a pretty little town of Florencia.  Quesada is commonly known as San Carlos, which is the name of the canton (think county) within the district (aka San Carlos) within the province (Alajuela, and think state) within Costa Rica.

We enjoyed lunch at the town’s central park, across from the Cathedral.   Quesada, and the area around is known for agriculture and dairy farming.  It’s a busy town, especially around El Centro.

Cathedral de Ciudad Quesada

Wood carvings

A few kilometers east of town, towards Aguas Zarcas, is Termales del Bosque (hot springs in the forest) and yes, we stayed a couple nights.  Lovely setting and so quiet!  The springs themselves are primitive, rock pools along the river.  The area lies at the foot of dormant 2267’ Volcan Planatar.

Church at Aguas Zarcas

Volcan Planatar

Termales del Bosque

Stream at Termales del Bosque

Leaving the Quesada area we began to climb, winding back and forth over hairpin curves over the Central Range.  The views were pretty but the drive was rather unnerving with fearless drivers of buses, trucks, and motorcycles coming around the bends.  The buses and trucks are so long that they take up both lanes on the road when going around the tight curves.  You really need to watch what’s coming your way. 

 

Tough driving!

Foggy view!

We climbed to over 6600’ at the summit and although the distance was relatively short (maybe 20 miles) it took about an hour.  Cresting the summit we started noticing lots of farming of what we call “cool weather crops” like cabbage, onions, beets, and greens.  Every hillside was planted with some type of crop.  The area between Tapezco and Zarcero is gaining a reputation for organic farming, with a crisp mountain climate, rich volcanic soils, and natural rivers providing plenty of water.

Tapezco fields

 We love the town of Zarcero and remembered it from our 1996 trip.  Its central park is well known for the amazing topiary garden where shrubs have been shaped into animals and fantasy characters. The church at the top of the park is distinctive with its pink and blue exterior, looking something like a birthday cake.

Topiary park

Zarcero church

Topiary Park

Topiary Park

 

Coming down off the mountain we descend into the Central Valley, which is dotted with small agricultural towns, each of them with distinctive characteristics.  We begin to notice coffee farms on the hillsides. 

Central Valley view

The Central Valley is above San Jose, and mostly on the flank of 8884’ Volcan Poás, now considered active but quiet with its last major eruption in 1953. Our destination is the Mango Valley, which lies just east of Poás and above the towns of Sarchí and Grecia.

Sarchí is Costa Rica’s well-known artists’ town and home to the intricately decorated oxcart factories and custom woodworking, including furniture.  The oxcarts are called “carretas” and were widely used for carrying coffee down off the mountainsides.  We chose to visit the Fabrica de Carretas Elvoy Alfaro, one of the longest running oxcart manufacturers in Sarchí.  The small operation is still powered by waterwheel using most of the same machinery from the late 19^th century.  The craftsmen are willing to share their talent with tourists and even let Bob take a hand at painting!

World's largest oxcart

Beautifully decorated oxcart

Intricate painting detail

Waterwheel

Oxcart wheels

Bob taking a hand at painting designs

We also enjoyed a visit to the Jardín de Botánico Else Kientzler, which provided a nice respite from the busy town of Sarchí.  The gardens, about 15 acres, are part of a large ornamental flower farm and have over 2000 species of flora and fauna from all over the world. 

Gardens

Gardens

Grecia lies at about 3300’ in the foothills and is best known for its church, Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.  It is constructed entirely of pre-fabricated metal panels painted red.  Urban legend has it that the church was meant as a gift from some unknown foreign country to Greece but mistakenly shipped to Grecia, Costa Rica.  Church records seem to dispel that legend but the myth lives on.

We stayed at a lovely hotel in the hills outside of Grecia called Mango Valley.  It was well recommended in Trip Advisor, and lived up to its reputation with a wonderful view of coffee farms on the surrounding hills.

Traveling from Mango Valley, we circumvented San Jose on Pan American Highway 1.  We visited the nation’s capital in 1996 and don’t feel the need to explore the city again.  There are some lovely colonial era buildings in the heart of the city, and worth viewing if you have not been.  However, we can tell the city has grown exponentially and the outlying suburbs such as Alajuela and Escazú just blend into the city.  Our advice would be to rely on public transportation or pay for a taxi (money well spent in the city) rather than try to drive within the city.  Driving the freeway is scary enough with traffic, traffic lights, and ramps going every direction except the one you want to take!!

We head southeast to the town of Cartago (4707’), which lies below Irazú Volcano (11,260’).  The volcano has historically been one of Costa Rica’s most active volcanoes but has been quiet since 1963.  However, the area has been ravaged by earthquakes and Cartago has few original buildings still standing.  The central park adjoins Las Ruinas, a church that was destroyed in 1910.  The city’s most famous building is the Básilica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, located on the eastern edge of town.  Cartago was founded in 1563, Costa Rica’s only city for nearly 150 years!

Cartago church

Las Ruinas

We enjoyed a visit to the University of Costa Rica’s Lankester Gardens, which has hundreds of species of orchids being cultivated and on display.  The trails meander through gardens of bromeliades, succulents, ferns, and a Japanese garden.  We were particularly taken with the desert cacti . . . surrounded by rainforest! 

Bamboo

Bromeliades

Cacti garden

Lichen & moss on cactus!

Outside Cartago we started climbing again and then dropped into the steep sided Orosi Valley.  One of the things we have noticed while driving in Costa Rica is there are very few places to pull over and enjoy the view or take photos.  However, there is a nice park setting lookout (mirador) above the Orosi Valley. 

Orosi Valley

We left the valley floor at the town of Paraiso and drove up the Rio Perlas to a lovely lodge with yes, another hot spring.  I’m beginning to think we are very predictable!  This was another great hotel found through Trip Advisor, and it did not disappoint.  The grounds were beautifully landscaped and meticulously maintained, and the restaurant was also very good.

Chapel at Rio Perlas

Hot springs pool

Rio Perlas

 

We are now in Heredia, on the flanks of Barva Volcano (9534’).  Heredia is a northern suburb of San Jose, with a genuine Colonial era feeling to it. 

El Fortin in Heredia

Heredia church and park

I’m sure you have noticed I have referred to the elevations of towns and mountains in this post.  Costa Rica is a small country, only about the size of West Virginia or just over 300 miles across from the Pacific to the Caribbean.  The Cordilleras forming the spine of the country soar to significant elevations when you start out at sea level.  The volcanic topography has formed a rugged land, and an impressive one at that.  We are only seeing a small part of Costa Rica and maybe that provides me with some insight today . . . retirement is like our trip through Costa Rica.  There are ups and downs, hazards lurking around every curve (think stock market!), but we are choosing to embrace the ride over the mountain!

We are exploring the foothills outside Heredia and then go out to the Pacific Coast for a few days before our trip comes to an end.  Thanks for following along on our journey!

Our peaceful backyard in Heredia