Paige R. Penland - Explorers Guide Costa Rica: With Excursions to Nicaragua & Panama: A Great Destination

COSTA RICA

Malpais and Santa Teresa have some of the worlds most beautiful beaches.

COSTA RICA

Great Destinations Central America

With Excursions to
Nicaragua & Panama

Paige R. Penland

Id like to dedicate this book to my mom, Wanda Olson, for enabling my travel addiction since childhood; for repeatedly storing sagging boxes of old Lowrider magazines and sweaters now years out of style while I traipse across the tropics; for providing me with a permanent mailing address and the occasional undeserved deposit into my emptied checking account; and for visiting me in both Costa Rica and Nicaragua (braving choppy Lake Nicaragua in a tiny lancha to visit Isla Ometepe) over the years. Perhaps Panama is next! I love you, mom.

Copyright 2009 by Paige R. Penland

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any way by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages.

Website URLs listed in this book were current at the time of publication. If you find information that has changed, let us know at countrymanpress@wwnorton.com and we will use that in preparing future editions.

ISBN 978-1-58157-097-7

Cover photo Kerrick James

Interior photos by the author unless otherwise specified

Book design by Bodenweber Design

Page composition by Chelsea Cloeter

Maps by Mapping Specialists Ltd., Madison, WI, The Countryman Press

Published by The Countryman Press, P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, Vermont 05091

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Recommended by National Geographic Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines

[A] CRISP AND CRITICAL APPROACH, FOR TRAVELERS WHO WANT TO LIVE LIKE LOCALS. USA Today

Great Destinations guidebooks are known for their comprehensive, critical coverage of regions of extraordinary cultural interest and natural beauty. The authors in this series are professional travel writers who have lived for many years in the regions they describe. Each title in this series is continuously updated with each printing to ensure accurate and timely information. All the books contain more than one hundred photographs and maps.

Current titles available:

THE ADIRONDACK BOOK

ATLANTA

AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO & THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

THE BERKSHIRE BOOK

BERMUDA

BIG SUR, MONTEREY BAY & GOLD COAST WINE COUNTRY

CAPE CANAVERAL, COCOA BEACH & FLORIDAS SPACE COAST

THE CHARLESTON, SAVANNAH & COASTAL ISLANDS BOOK

THE CHESAPEAKE BAY BOOK

THE COAST OF MAINE BOOK

COLORADOS CLASSIC MOUNTAIN TOWNS

COSTA RICA: GREAT DESTINATIONS CENTRAL AMERICA

THE FINGER LAKES BOOK

THE FOUR CORNERS REGION

GALVESTON, SOUTH PADRE ISLAND & THE TEXAS GULF COAST

THE HAMPTONS BOOK

HAWAIIS BIG ISLAND

HONOLULU & OAHU: GREAT DESTINATIONS HAWAII

THE JERSEY SHORE: ATLANTIC CITY TO CAPE MAY

KAUAI: GREAT DESTINATIONS HAWAII

LAKE TAHOE & RENO

LOS CABOS & BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR: GREAT DESTINATIONS MEXICO

MAUI: GREAT DESTINATIONS HAWAII

MICHIGANS UPPER PENINSULA

MONTREAL & QUEBEC CITY: GREAT DESTINATIONS CANADA

THE NANTUCKET BOOK

THE NAPA & SONOMA BOOK

NORTH CAROLINAS OUTER BANKS & THE CRYSTAL COAST

PALM BEACH, FORT LAUDERDALE, MIAMI & THE FLORIDA KEYS

PALM SPRINGS & DESERT RESORTS

PHOENIX, SCOTTSDALE, SEDONA & CENTRAL ARIZONA

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, TULUM & THE RIVIERA MAYA: GREAT DESTINATIONS MEXICO

SALT LAKE CITY, PARK CITY, PROVO & UTAHS HIGH COUNTRY RESORTS

SAN DIEGO & TIJUANA

SAN JUAN, VIEQUES & CULEBRA: GREAT DESTINATIONS PUERTO RICO

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE & GUANAJUATO: GREAT DESTINATIONS MEXICO

THE SANTA FE & TAOS BOOK

THE SARASOTA, SANIBEL ISLAND & NAPLES BOOK

THE SEATTLE & VANCOUVER BOOK

THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY BOOK

TOURING EAST COAST WINE COUNTRY

WASHINGTON, D.C., AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA

YELLOWSTONE & GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARKS AND JACKSON HOLE

YOSEMITE & THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA

If you are traveling to, moving to, residing in, or just interested in any (or all!) of these enchanting regions, a Great Destinations guidebook is a superior companion. Honest and painstakingly critical, full of information only a local can provide, Great Destinations guidebooks give you all the practical knowledge you need to enjoy the best of each region. Why not own them all?

The Golfo Dulce, or Sweet Gulf, from the Osa Peninsula

There are so many people without whom this book would not have been possible, beginning with Kim Grant, who first contacted me about the gig, and the gracious, flexible, and supportive editorial staff at The Countryman Press, including Kermit Hummel and Jennifer Thompson, as well as diligent copyeditor Collette Leonard. Thanks also go out to my mom, Wanda Olson, for keeping an eye on my business back in the United States, and my sister Beth, for her help with research.

Many others have helped me out on my journey, including everyone at Scotland Apartments ( www.hotels.co.cr/scotland.html ) in San Jos for keeping the Internet up and running. Special thanks to Beto Lizarraga and Jaime Peligro in Guanacaste; Nadene, Camillo, and Ann in Nicaragua; Jefe, with information on the Ro San Juan; Vera and Edgart, with those Atlantic updates; and of course my neighbors and friends here in San Jos, who have kept me going: Jim, Anthony, Jesse, Tom, Barry, Jules, Diana, Kyle Alex, Manfred, Dexter, Carlos, and Jason. And to everyone who Ive forgotten, many thanks and pura vida!

One has to wonderwhile threading the orchid-clad understory of an ancient cloud forest, or admiring the tenacity of ten thousand green turtles nesting on some gray and untouched beachis it possible? Could we really preserve Eden? The answer to that ancient question could be as simple as pura vida.

This is the unofficial slogan of Costa Rica, and youll hear it every day, in place of hello, goodbye, or Im doing very well, thanks for asking. Literally, it means pure life, and in this place where schools of hammerhead sharks swirl unmolested in chilly plankton-rich waters, and one quarter of the worlds bees buzz through the endangered dry tropical forest, it seems quite literal indeed.

Costa Rica is one of those rare places where la naturaleza is valued more than gold, again, literally: One mine was shut down as this book went to press, despite record gold prices, for polluting a rarely visited wildlife refuge. Cold metal glitters, to be sure, but have you ever seen a misty sky full of rainbows, or a flock of red and blue macaws, reflected in every dewdrop that clings to a living bouquet?