Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [462]
If, instead of heading northwest, you travel north through the small town of Pital, you’ll find yourself bumping along the back roads of one of the least-touristed parts of Costa Rica. This northern zone makes up part of the San Juan–La Selva Biological Corridor, an ongoing collaborative project involving nonprofit conservation organizations and local communities to create a wildlife refuge, with the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Mixto Maquenque (see boxed text) at its heart.
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VENECIA & AROUND
The westbound road traces the northern limits of the Cordillera Central as flowering vines scramble down the mountains and threaten to overtake the road. In the distance, the northern lowlands appear as a patchwork quilt of cane fields and rice paddies. The road momentarily straightens out as it enters the rural town of Venecia, 14km west of San Miguel, though the town passes by in a heartbeat as the road continues its dizzying wind toward Muelle de San Carlos.
If you’re looking to break up the driving, what better place to spend the night than Venecia’s famous ‘medieval castle’ of Torre Fuerte Cabinas (2472-2424; s/d US$30/60; ), behind the big church. Though it looks like it would feel more at home on the Las Vegas Strip, rooms are clean and have a bathroom with hot water. Plus, if you stay there you can tell all your friends and family that you spent the night in a Costa Rican castle.
A great place to relax and rejuvenate your body after a long drive is Recreo Verde (2472-1020; www.recreoverde.com; campsites US$15, s/d incl breakfast US$35/55; ), which has a number of rustic cabinas near a river bend, all with private bathroom. Guests have access to four mineral baths featuring a variety of different-colored mud, as well as three cold-water pools fed by mountain spring water. There’s also a soccer pitch for a quick pick-up game, and a number of rainforest trails that you can hike and explore. You can also go spelunking in the Cueva de la Muerte (Cave of Death), though the only real danger is the risk of catching a cold.
Halfway between San Miguel and Venecia is the hamlet of Río Cuarto, from where an unpaved road heads southeast past the beautiful waterfall near Bajos del Toro, through Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco, and on to Zarcero.
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BOCA TAPADA AREA
Don’t bother venturing out here if Tico time ticks you off; the rocky roads and lack of sign-age (even less than usual!) could mean a few unintended detours. On the roads that pass pineapple fields and packing plants, your fellow travelers will be commuting caballeros (cowboys) and campesinos (farmers) going about their day-to-day business. And at the end of the road, you’ll be rewarded with a luxuriant bit of rainforest replete with frog songs, rare avian residents and an inkling of the symbiosis that can happen when humans make the effort. Local ecolodges offer rainforest tours into the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Mixto Maquenque; for more information, see boxed text.
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Sleeping & Eating
Laguna del Lagarto Lodge (2289-8163; www.lagarto-lodge-costa-rica.com; s/d/tr US$45/59/68; ) This environmentally sensitive, German-run lodge is surrounded by 13 sq km of virgin rainforest and is something of a legend among bird-watchers. Simple but pleasant screened rooms have private bathroom and fan and share large, hammock-strung verandas. Package tours include transportation from San José, all meals and guided tours. Otherwise, breakfast is ₡3480, lunch ₡4060 and dinner ₡8120. Room rates include an afternoon guided hike through the jungle and a nighttime caiman-feeding walk.
Most of the 500-hectare ‘grounds’ of the lodge is rainforest, some of which is swamp – as a result the area’s 10km of trails can get quite mucky. Canoes are available to explore the surrounding lagoons, where caimans dwell and Jesus Christ lizards make tracks across the water’s surface. Horseback-riding trips and boat tours along the Nicaraguan border can be arranged.