Liberia - the windy wild West of Costa Rica

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The bus dropped us off more or less right outside our first night's accommodation, Hotel Boyeros. We were a night ahead of our planned arrival so the Air B&B we had booked wasn't available. Instead we decided on a nice hotel with a pool to relax for a while. Liberia is located just an hour or so from Lake Arenal but climate-wise it's on a different planet - one with sun, heat and wind! We certainly made the most of the pool and there were some reasonable restaurants close by to keep us happy. After all that relaxing, we moved to the edge of the city and into our Air B&B apartmentfor three nights giving us plenty of time to explore the city and its surroundings.

Liberia is the capital of cowboy country and many of its streets do have a bit of a Wild Wild West feel to them! We were staying in the La Victoria district which certainly doesn't see many foreign visitors but everyone was very friendly and we even managed to have our hair cut. This is an activity not without risk. We have had terrible experiences, in Vietnam especially, but here they were great and even posed for a picture with us. I think they appreciated the novelty of some visiting gringos!!

So, what to do in a not-very-touristy city for a few days. Aside from laundry and the afore-mentioned haircuts, we had a very good wander around the central areas. The gleaming white church in the heart of the city is obviously the focal point and that's where the "Liberia" tourist sign is for your selfies. The big plaza alongside is currently undergoing major restoration work. Nearby we had hoped to find the Guanacaste Museum and learn something about the local culture. Despite having a website suggesting a few exhibits, it doesn't really exist. We spoke to the security guard on duty and she allowed us in for a wander around. The building itself is pretty interesting. It's an old military barracks which became a prison. You can climb up to the roof and get views of the city through the slits in the watchtowers, and you can explore the ground level where the cells were. At times they have cultural events in the courtyard and some of the rooms as well as music and dance classes, but a museum it is not! Still, at least there was something for us to see, unlike the Museo de Sabanero which was supposed to focus on the cowboy culture of the Guanacaste region. There were some lads hanging around outside where we thought it should be, but they had never heard of it. Even in the civic offices they said the only museum was the old prison.

Another potential point of interest is the Ermita de la Agonía which remained steadfastly closed during our visit. It is a lovely little chapel gleaming white, but our inability to find a way in did lead to a great experience. Whilst walking around trying to find a way in, I spotted some beautiful leather saddles through some railings and we ended up having a lovely chat with the craftsman who was making them. He told us about the wonderful cowboy fiesta which was just weeks away. By the looks of the

Comments

[RENanDREW]

Wow!
For a second I thought you were in Liberia, West Africa! I had never heard of Liberia in Costa Rica :) Your descriptions and photos reminded me of similar places in Guatemala, and I can see what you mean by 'but it really needs to work on its tourist product'. As much as we loved those out of the way everyday type regional towns for showing us a very real picture of the country, that alone won't attract the tourist crowds (if that's what they want). Thanks for sharing a 'new' place with us :)

[rrruss]

Our pleasure!
Liberia reminded me in some ways of when I lived in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia. I really do like towns/cities like that. We felt the same in David, Panama.

[D MJ Binkley]

Sampling Costa Rica
It looks like you are tasting your way through several Latin American countries. Some of the off the beaten track places are that way for a reason.