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Published: September 9th 2006
I have officially lost my first battle with nature. After spending the last week and a half in San Carlos and trekking through multiple rainforests on more than 20 farms, the heat, mosquito bites, spider bites and poisonous plants have finally gotten the better of us. My 30+ insect bites have now turned into 89 welts that are driving me bonkers and Mike’s quick brush with fire ants have encouraged us to take a break from the woods.
Don’t get me wrong. San Carlos is an awesome area. We’ve met some really great people and seen some beautiful sites, however San Carlos is quite a large area and we now know that the lowlands are probably not for us (Muelle, Santa Rosa, Buenos Aires, etc.). There is still hope however that the mountainous area around Juan Castro Blanco National Park (Agua Zarcus area) would be a great location for us, as cooler temperatures and access on horseback to the park would be very appealing.
I came to Costa Rica to absorb a different language and a different culture; to allow this new environment to change me a bit. I can say that San Carlos has changed me. We saw
one farm that brought tears to my eyes as it had been clear cut of all trees. In this case, the cut trees were left to die where they fell, right next to their stumps. To see so many large trees dead like that was moving, to say the least. It’s not something I can explain and I still kick myself for not bringing a camera to share this sight with all of you. I think it would have seriously hit home the destruction caused by logging and cattle farming.
After a trip to the Subasta (cattle auction house), I wiped away tears as I saw old and infirm horses who were being sold for sausage. Many had seen years of hard, abusive work. Their back scars told me that they did not have proper padding under their saddles. Watching the cattle being prodded into their holding pens struck me hard and I haven’t eaten meat since. I understand the need to eat meat. My dad is a hunter and I’ve had my share of it over my lifetime, but I also think that there is a humane way to treat these animals and that wasn’t something I can
say was evident.
San Carlos has opened my eyes up a bit more and has definitely changed me…..
After a day of horseback riding through a friend’s farm, Mike’s slight sun stroke and my persistently itchy legs led to a conversation over lunch that maybe it was time to check out other areas. And just like that, we were off.
We went back to the hotel at 2pm, packed up our bags and off we went to the northern end of Guanacaste, hoping that the beach would soothe our wounds and give us a mental break from converting hecatares, manzanas and meters squared into acres and square feet.
After driving around Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal, we arrived in Liberia a few days ago and so far, have not been impressed. Liberia is located in the northern Guanacaste area where the newest international airport has been built. The area is built up, which has provided us with some welcomed amenities such as hot water and a variety of restaurants and stores, however the area just doesn’t feel right to us.
Yesterday we went to Santa Rosa National Park, located about a half hour north of
Liberia along the Pan American Highway. We’ve read that this park is a non-tourist “gem” of trails and wildlife along with housing a monument dedicated to the battle won by Costa Ricans against the invader William Walker. The park appears to be severely under-funded, as the roads were in very poor condition, signage lacking and the “restaurant” consisted of one possible entrée. You can drive on the main road, however it ends approximately 1/8th of the way into the park. The park ranger explained that if we insisted on driving further, we would have to sign a waiver as people always get stuck on the poorly maintained road. We opted to walk.
The walk wasn’t what we thought it would be. We had anticipated a non-tourist nature walk with animals and birds everywhere and what we got was a beat up service road with holes and water. We did however see our fair share of different kinds of butterflies and Magpie Jays the size of small children, but other than that, it felt much like the surrounding areas… desolate.
The road apparently leads all the way to a pristine beach, however it would take approximately 2.5 hours to
walk there. Another 2.5 hours back to the car simply was not appealing, so we opted to only walk part of the way in. Maybe the beach is truly amazing and for anyone who has walked to the end and cares to comment, please feel free.
We made our way back to the museum, which was worth seeing. A very old hacienda that apparently had been rebuilt due to a fire a few years ago. They have turned the inside of the hacienda into a small museum but unfortunately, it is not overly informative - confusing at best - and all in Spanish, which won’t be beneficial to tourists visiting that don’t speak the language. Mike even commented that in Spanish, the information was lacking.
Considering my legs were on fire from the sweat and heat that had been seeping into my wounds, I decided it was time to simply lie on a nearby bench and take a nap. Mike woke me a little while later to tell me he had found a room in the back that had “snakes in containers”. I thought he meant live snakes and was shocked at how calm he seemed. Off we
went for me to see for myself. Instead of live snakes, I found dead snakes in jars of liquid. A few were marked so that you could see they were poisonous, others had no names on them at all. Once again, a lack of information left me frustrated.
Mike then pointed to another room that appeared to have a topographical map in the center of the floor, however Mike looked hesitant about entering because he said there were “birds flying around in there”. I peaked in and laughed and told him that they weren’t birds, they were bats. He looked in for a second until I said, “oh look, one is in the room with us now too” and off he went. I’ll give him some credit though, he didn’t run. He simply walked very fast with me laughing the entire time. Mike does not like bats! Something about some childhood experience with bats in his room makes the blood run from his face.
On our way back to the truck, we saw a well maintained walking trail near the hacienda and decided to give Santa Rosa another shot at changing our minds about the quality of the
Grrrr...
Probably one of the guys I've been bit by.attraction. This trail wasn’t bad at all, although quite short. It was, however, well maintained and had great signs with different names of trees. The trail was decent enough but we didn’t see much wildlife, except for a few large iguanas and some smaller, bright green lizards. If you are in the area and are already going to Santa Rosa to see the monument, walking this trail isn’t a bad idea. It wraps back around to the parking lot and creates a decent loop, but unless you are already heading into the park to see the monument, I wouldn’t spend $6 to walk this trail.
We left Santa Rosa feeling a bit disappointed. We were hoping to find a diamond in the rough and instead we saw first hand what a lack of funding can do to a national park.
Determined to make it to the beach, we headed north toward the Nicaraguan border to a town called La Cruz. There were two major beachfront resorts here and we looked forward to staying a few nights in a place a little more upscale. My body simply wouldn’t allow me to stay in another place where I would be
eaten alive by spiders and insects throughout the night. La Cruz didn’t have a great vibe to it. Mike and I quickly commented that we wanted to get through the town and make it to the beach quickly. The road out the back of La Cruz down to the beach is extremely rough. It does not require 4x4 but believe me, your organs will be quite jostled around by the time you make it to the water.
We finally made it to the resorts only to find them somewhat deserted and run down. One guy told us that his restaurant staff had left due to a lack of business in the rainy season so he didn’t have any food to serve. The other resort, while it had some people staying there, simply wasn’t appealing for $70 per night.
While driving down the beat up driveway of the hotel, we decided to simply drive all the way back to Liberia, spend the night in town again, and head out fresh in the morning. La Cruz and the northern end of Guanacaste simply was not for us and we knew it in a matter of minutes.
We spent last
night back in Liberia and are preparing to take a look at Rincón de la Vieja National Park today. We made a stop at the pharmacy to have someone look at my bites and I was told that I could also be having an allergic reaction to the bites which is why they are getting worse. I was given new meds and some new gel and I can say that for the first time in weeks, I’m actually not itching.
Not sure where we’ll head from here but we will be sure to keep everyone posted. We are thinking of heading to the touristy beaches of the Pacific side for some relaxation but who knows what side-treks we’ll end up taking along the way.
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NancyLynne
non-member comment
Mother Nature always wins, there is just something right about that. True , too, as they say.. "you can't fool her". Never- the- less... most of life's precious gifts will always be worth the test, and the rewards, sweet! Hang in there and stay well. Thanks for all the info, it's great!