Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [401]
Today, Siquirres still marks the place where Costa Rica takes a dip into the Caribbean – and it’s not just the geography. It’s reflected in the demographics and the culture as well. This is where Costa Rican casados (set meals) give way to West Indian rondón (a spicy seafood gumbo cooked in coconut milk), where Spanish guitar is replaced with the strains of calypso, and where Costa Rica’s inherently mestizo race gives way to black features.
There is little reason to stop in Siquirres, unless you are heading north to Parismina – in which case this is a good spot to find banking, internet and telephone services. (Tip: buy phone cards here; they don’t sell them at all in Parismina.) For purposes of orientation: the Siquirres church – a highly recognizable round building – is located to the west side of the soccer field.
Banco de Costa Rica (100m north of the park; 9am-4pm) has a 24-hour ATM on the Cirrus network. Internet Siquirres (7am-7pm Mon-Sat; per hr ₡350), on a 2nd story across from the Importadora Monge, north of the park, has a dozen terminals with decent connections.
If you need somewhere to crash for the night, head 1km northeast of the park to Centro Turístico Las Tilapias (2768-9293; www.tarzantico.com; d with/without air-con US$45/35; ), also known as ‘Chito’s Place.’ It’s hard to find, so ask around – or better yet, take a taxi. This sprawling, swampy property – a manmade lagoon in the center is home to a massive, snoozing crocodile – seems to channel the Florida Everglades. There are animal shows every Sunday at 4pm, when local celebrities Chito and Pocho put the moves on said croc. Surrounding the lagoon you’ll find 17 clean-but-basic rooms as well as a bar and restaurant.
Sodas and bakeries are plentiful.
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Getting There & Away
There are two principal bus terminals in town. At the corner terminal on the east side of the park, you’ll find the following buses:
Guápiles ₡700; 45 minutes; departs every 45 minutes 6:30am to 7:30pm.
Limón ₡900; 1½ hours; departs almost hourly 6:30am to 10pm.
San José ₡1600; 1½ hours; departs almost hourly 5am to 6pm.
On the north side of the park, an L-shaped station has buses to Turrialba (₡700; almost hourly 5:30am to 6:30pm).
TO PARISMINA
At the L-shaped station on the park, you’ll find buses to Caño Blanco, for transfer by boat to Parismina. Caño-Aguilar (2768-8172) operates the route to Caño Blanco (₡900; weekday departures at 4am, noon and 3:15pm, weekend departure at 7:30am). It’s a two-hour ride to Caño Blanco, after which you transfer to a water taxi (₡1000) that makes the 10-minute trip to Parismina. (Take small change to pay the boatman.) There is a small restaurant with bathrooms by the dock.
Note: the Caño Blanco bus gets crowded. Get to the station early to buy your ticket and get in the queue. People start lining up to board about 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
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VERAGUA RAINFOREST RESEARCH & ADVENTURE PARK
In Las Brisas de Veragua, you’ll find this bells-and-whistles rainforest adventure park (2296-5056; www.veraguarainforest.com; Las Brisas de Veragua; admission adult with/without zip line tour US$89/55, child with/without zip line tour US$65/45; ), nestled into the foothills of the Talamanca Mountains. A sprawling complex, it has guided tours of the forest along elevated walkways and maintained trails, as well as attractions such as an aerial tram, a reptile vivarium, an insectarium and hummingbird and butterfly gardens. There is also a zip-line canopy tour, available at an extra charge. Installations include a cafeteria and gift shop and many of the attractions are wheelchair-accessible – and a good way of exploring nature if traveling with an elderly person or small children. To get here, take the signed turned-off south from Hwy 32 at Liverpool, 12km west of Puerto Limón.
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PUERTO LIMÓN
pop 27,000
The biggest city on Costa Rica