Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [397]
If you are staying in San José, you can easily arrange a shuttle to the tram. The company has a booking office in San José (Map), but it’s just as easy to make reservations over the phone. If you are driving, look for the well-signed turnoff (it has lots of flags) just north of the Zurquí park entrance, on the east side of the road. From the parking lot, a truck will take you 3km to the tram-loading point, where there is an exhibit area, restaurant and gift shop. Here you can see an orientation video, and there are short maintained hiking trails for independent exploration. Be prepared for rain.
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GUÁPILES & AROUND
pop 15,700
A pleasant (if not terribly scenic) lowland agricultural town located at the base of the northern foothills of the Cordillera Central serves as a transport center for the Río Frío banana-growing region. It’s a good spot to hang out if you want to avoid the tourism industrial complex. Bustling streets are filled with shoppers, and families gather in a broad, rectangular plaza lined by rows of painted palm trees. A lively agricultural market takes place on Saturdays.
Guápiles serves as a convenient base from which to explore Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, which lies just a 20 minute drive away, or to organize excursions to Tortuguero (Click here).
The center of town is about 1km north of Hwy 32. The two major streets are one-way, running parallel to each other. Most of the services are on the loop that these streets make through the busy downtown.
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Sights & Activities
About 2km east of downtown lies the Jardín Botánico Las Cusingas(2710-2652; guided tour US$5; by appointment), a sprawling 20-hectare botanical garden with more than 80 medicinal species, 80 orchid species and 30 bromeliad species – plus, more than 100 bird species have been recorded on the flower-filled property. There are several easy trails for walking, as well as courses, research projects and a library on offer. From the main highway, turn north at the Servicentro Santa Clara, then go 4km by rough paved road to the signed entrance.
North of Guápiles, 3km northeast of the village of Santa Rosa, is the ecological farm Ecofinca Andar (2272-1024; www.andarcr.org; 1-day admission US$14, per person homestay incl meals US$17; ), an impressive educational facility that shows how plants are cultivated for medicinal purposes and used as sources of renewable energy. If you stick around for more than a day you can get your hands dirty by planting in the gardens and maintaining trails. See the website for details.
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Sleeping
GUÁPILES
Hotel y Cabinas Wilson (2710-2217; d with/without air-con US$18/15, tr with air-con US$30; ) A slightly musty, reasonably clean spot has 24 rooms with cool-water showers (not that you’ll need hot water in the blistering lowland heat). Get a room in the back to avoid the street noise. To get here: from the main highway, turn north at the Burger King. The hotel will be about 300m in, on your right, on a broad commercial street.
Hotel Country Club Suerre (2710-7551, 2713-3000; www.suerre.com; s/d US$70/90, each additional person US$20; ) Just 1km north of the Servicentro Santa Clara lies this swish spot, popular with fruit company executives. The place has a rather bland Holiday Inn vibe, but the 98 rooms are spacious and tidy, and the grounds are meticulously maintained. There’s a restaurant, casino, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a gym, shaded tennis courts and a children’s play area.
THE TROUBLED LEGACY OF BANANAS
The banana. Nothing embodies the tumultuous history of Latin America – and its complicated relationship to the United States – quite like this common yellow fruit. They are the crop that has determined the path of current affairs in more than one Central American nation. They are the sobriquet used to describe corrupt, dictatorial regimes – ‘the banana republic.’ They are a symbol of