Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [464]
Today, sugar is one of the most heavily subsidized agricultural products in industrial countries. Sugar prices in the USA, the EU and Japan are on average three times the international market cost as governments maintain elevated price floors by subsidizing domestic production and imposing high tariffs on imports. As a result, sugar-exporting countries are excluded from these markets, and thus receive lower prices than they would under a system of free trade. Brazil, which exports more than a quarter of the world’s supply of refined sugar and heads a coalition of sugar-exporting nations, has repeatedly lobbied the World Trade Organization to reform the market.
For countries such as Costa Rica, sugar production is mainly a domestic industry because it’s not profitable to export sugar to countries that levy a high tariff on imports – true even with the ratification of Cafta (US–Central American Free Trade Agreement), or TLC (Tratado de Libre Comercio), as the USA is loathe to open its sugar market to lower-priced imports.
Harvesting sugarcane manually is exhausting work as the stalks can grow to a height of 4m and they are thick, fibrous and difficult to cut down. It’s becoming increasingly common in Costa Rica for sugarcane to be harvested using self-propelled harvesting machines, which has made it difficult for rural Ticos to find employment.
The next time you’re driving through cane country, support the local industry and look for signs advertising jugo de caña – there’s nothing quite like a cool glass of fresh sugarcane juice.
Hotel La Garza (2475-5222; www.hotellagarza.com; d/tr incl breakfast US$85/100, extra person US$15; ) Also near Platanar, this attractive, upscale lodge sits on a 700-hectare working dairy ranch and citrus plantation with views of the Río Platanar and far-off Volcán Arenal. Visitors enter the landscaped reception and restaurant area via a graceful suspension footbridge, and the 12 polished wooden bungalows with big porch, ceiling fan, telephone and good-sized private bathroom have a touch of class. Tennis, basketball and volleyball courts are available, as are 4km of private trails, a swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Tours are available, including horseback rides through primary and secondary tropical forest land (US$28/45 for two/four hours).
Tilajari Resort Hotel (2469-9091; www.tilajari.com; s/d incl breakfast from US$99, extra person US$20; ) This former country club turned luxury resort has well-landscaped grounds overlooking the Río San Carlos, and it offers an impressive number of tours and activities. Comfortable, well-appointed rooms are accented with wood details and have private hot shower, cable TV, refrigerator and private terrace. A few of the rooms and private trails are wheelchair-accessible. Other amenities include a lovely pool area, racquetball and tennis courts, a restaurant, sauna, spa and butterfly garden (admission US$3.50), plus access to the neighboring 400-hectare private rainforest reserve with several trails. The resort is 800m west of the intersection at Muelle, on the road to Ciudad Quesada.
There are a number of sodas and a small supermarket on the road toward Los Chiles that will do just fine if you’re looking for your casado fix. However, one recommended spot is Restaurant-Bar La Subasta (2467-8087; mains ₡1740-4000; 11am-11pm), which overlooks a bullpen and is bustling with hungry campesinos. It has an expansive menu of local dishes, and it’s a great spot for a cold beer. If you speak Spanish, strike up a conversation here as you’re bound to meet some interesting characters.
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LOS CHILES
Seventy kilometers north of Muelle on a smooth, paved road through the sugarcane, and just three dusty, red and heavily rutted kilometers south of the Nicaraguan border, lies the sweltering farming