CR DRIVING: SAN JOSE TO SAN ISIDRO DEL GENERAL (PEREZ ZELEDON), VIA EL CERRO DE LA MUERTE (AKA THE HILL OF DEATH), AND DOMINICAL
Before embarking on our second road trip this month, one of the SL drivers told me that we should make San Isidro del General in about 2 hours…after all, San Isidro was only 130 km away. After arriving in San Isidro, “Oscar Malo†(my wingman) and I found this estimate to be overly optimistic! We departed the SL around 11:00 am, and headed for Avenida 2. Our route is described in the following paragraphs:
Once reaching Avenida 2, make a left and head east toward the San Pedro Mall. Avenida 2 becomes Paseo Ruben Dario. Upon reaching the mall, get on the Autopista South and head for the rotary at Autopista Estado de Israel and Hwy #215. When negotiating the rotary, you need to drive half-way around, and take the third right towards Curridibat (look for signs to Cartago). Take Hwy #215 through Zapote. Proceed east on Hwy #215 until you reach Hwy #CA 2, aka the Interamerican Highway. (Yes, there are several different ways to reach #CA 2 from Curridibat, but this is the route that worked for us). Once on this highway, you will be on your way to Cartago (about 25 km from the rotary). As you enter Cartago, Hwy #CA 2 will be to your right heading south. (It is easy to miss the turn!) Take CA #2 / Hwy #2 South. About 6 or 7 km South, there is a turn-off for San Cristobal and a sign directing you towards San Isidro. Disregard the sign, and remain on the main highway! (We didn’t and ended up making an 8 km detour until we found ourselves back on Hwy #2.) At this point, you are about 125 km from San Isidro heading towards the infamous Cerro de la Muerte (the Hill of Death). You will feel your car labor against gravity and higher altitudes as it begins to climb the northwest tip of the Talamanca Mountain range.
The Interamerican Highway snakes between various mountain peaks with names like Vueltas, Sakira, Muerte and Division before reaching Villa Mills where it bends sharply towards the south and San Isidro. Drive cautiously! The road is riddled with potholes and there are no guardrails to prevent you and your rental car from careening down open mountain ridges. Also, be on the look out for MOPT speed traps…more on these guys in the little blue pick-up trucks later! Slow moving trucks and busses will reduce your progress to 10 or 15 KPH…testing the nerves of even the most patient driver. Narrow cartways, no shoulders and never-ending sharp curves and turns severely limit opportunities for safe passing. There is no room for indecision and hesitation here…when you see the opportunity to pass…do it quickly and decisively…you may not get another chance for many kilometers down the road. There are many breathtaking views as you traverse the spine of the Talamanca… but, try to keep your eyes glued to the road.
As you head south and downhill towards San Isidro, you will find various locations with small sodas or craft shops…excellent rest stops for taking in the views. As you approach San Isidro, you will notice a large statue of Christ situated on top of a promontory overlooking San Isidro. There is a restaurant a few 100 meters south, on the left, where you can pull over and take a picture. As you enter San Isidro, the Interamerican widens and becomes a divided highway.
The first things you notice on the approach to San Isidro are the large twin steeples of its beautiful cathedral in the center of town. We finally arrived in San Isidro at 2:45 in the afternoon…almost 4 hours after we left Sportsmens Lodge. Oscar and I checked into the Hotel Los Crestones, located on Calle Central across from the municipal stadium. There are at least half a dozen fine places of accommodation at very reasonable rates. Hotel Los Crestones is a modern motor court with spacious, clean rooms, private baths, secure parking and a full breakfast for $30 a night ($40 for a double).
San Isidro is a tidy little town with a population of 45,000. There are plenty of stores, restaurants and bars to choose from…even a brand new McDonalds on the Interamerican. Getting cash is no problem…I counted at least 3 full-service banks with 24-hour ATMs. Shopping in San Isidro is very inexpensive compared to San Jose. The people are friendly and warm. My good friend, Ana (a native of San Isidro), very accurately described this place as “a town of humble, good-natured people who work hard for their money.†From what I observed, unlike San Jose, San Isidro is safe and secure. When I inquired about a safe at Hotel Los Crestones, the young girl at the front desk told me not to worry…and said, “You don’t need one here…just lock the door to your room…that is your safe.†The closest thing to a crime that I witnessed was when Oscar Malo jumped the fence surrounding the Chirripo Park Office, after working hours, to find out about his hiking permit…he tripped the alarm system.
It is hard not to notice the beauty of the women who grace the streets of San Isidro. As my wingman put it, “These girls not only look beautiful, but they smell beautiful, too!†There does not appear to be much P4P here…I do not believe it is tolerated in this conservative, God-fearing little town. Nevertheless, there seems to be ample opportunity to meet some of these pretty females in a more conventional setting. Oscar and I met a young lady, Melissa, who works at the local Chamber of Commerce. Without any prompting, she told us that the club, La Cascada on Avenida 2, is the place to be for meeting eligible young women looking for a date. (Melissa showed some signs of promise herself!) She added that for every male in San Isidro there were 7 women and 2 gays available. We laughed, and asked her where all the men were. She indicated that many had left town…even the country…in search of higher-paying jobs.
Oscar and I checked out La Cascada that night. The club is a very nice bar/restaurant on the second floor of a corner building. There were at least a half dozen fetching young ladies sitting with either their mothers or aunts…not exactly a “target rich environment†for scoring. One or two cast a furtive glance our way, but we decided that getting any of them into our hotel room would require some work and an investment of time (maybe even a formal courting process)! Since we were there for only a few days, our mongering prospects did not look very bright.
We did discover what Melissa said about gays was true. At the table next to us, two middle-aged gays, an American and a German, were flirting with a young tico…asking him if he had any more boyfriends who could join them for some play. We finished our beers, and headed back to the hotel.
The next day, I met up with Melissa again…with the thought of asking her to give me an after-hours tour of the town. When I saw her, Melissa looked rather pale and weak. I asked her what was wrong…Melissa explained, in a hoarse voice, that she was fighting step throat, and had just returned from the clinic where she received a shot of antibiotics (Melissa pointed to her bottom). I told her about our disappointing experience at La Cascada. Melissa said, “Well, it is only Tuesday…things really don’t start happening until the weekend…†I nodded and thanked her…leaving her alone to deal with her misery.
So much for mongering attempts in San Isidro.
San Isidro is strategically located between the mountains and the beach. The trail head to Mount Chirripo is located 22 km to the north in the beautiful village of San Gerardo de Rivas…and Playa Dominical, on the Pacific, is 35 km away (about a 45 minute drive on Hwy #243). To get to Hwy #243, travel southwest on Calle Central in San Isidro…the calle eventually becomes Hwy #243. The road is narrow and has potholes galore… but the scenery is breathtaking. En route, there are several open-air sodas to enjoy an inexpensive meal and take in the panorama of the mountains and the sea. Upon reaching Hwy #34, if you make a left, you will be pleasantly surprised by a brand new four-lane highway that hugs the beach. There are several points between Dominical and Punta Dominical where you can access this beautiful, pristine beach. A little further south is the beginning of the Ballena National Marine Park (where there is a fee to enter the beaches). My wingman and I spent a wonderful afternoon on the beach at Playa Dominical. The water was clean and as warm as a bathtub. The energetic surf is a magnet for surfers. Beware, though, the riptides are dangerous! We got dragged several hundred meters along the shore before we even knew what was happening. If you continue along Hwy #34, you will reach Palmar Norte and the Interamerican Highway…some 70 km to the south. We drove all the way to Palmar Norte, had a bite to eat and visited the technical college. At the college, several large granite spheres are on display…two are at least 6 - 7 feet in diameter and weigh a couple of tons. Even the paleo-experts are unclear on the origins of these massive stone balls…it is believed that an ancient indigenous civilization living in Costa Rica several thousands of years ago created them. (Perhaps, aliens in UFOs?)
To the north of Dominical, Hwy #34 is a dusty gravel road leading to Quepos. (This rough, bone-jarring route is not recommended for leisurely drives). The stretch is desolate, but beautiful…a lot of agriculture here. Oscar and I drove for half an hour and got as far as Matapalo…then decided to turn back.
San Isidro and Dominical are very nice locations to visit. In my mind, these places are ideal spots for retirement…when the time arrives. The new stretch of Hwy #34 between Dominical and Palmar Norte is ripe for development (which I believe is coming).
Oh… I almost forgot to mention my encounter with the MOPT police on the Hill of Death. On our return trip to San Jose, I experienced my first Costa Rican speed trap. I was stuck behind a slow-moving tractor-trailer that was showing me no quarter. As we approached the sharp turn just before Villa Mills, I spotted a few hundred meters of skip line (a passing zone)… so, I downshifted and stomped on the gas. Our SUV gasped for air and sped around the truck. I was able to swing back into the proper lane as our vehicle rounded a sharp curve and then… the double solid line reappeared. As luck would have it, there was a little uniformed gentleman with a radar gun on the side of the road. He pointed at me and motioned for me to pull over. As the cop walked up towards the car, Oscar suggested that I should tell him: “I was only passing.†I told Oscar to forget about it…this guy only wants gringo money. The police officer very politely explained to me that he not only had me for speeding, but for improper passing as well (I crossed a double solid line). The officer was very considerate…even drawing a little diagram of my transgressions on his summons book. I could have engaged him in a debate over proper uniform traffic control devices or asked him about the ordinance establishing the no passing zone… but I decided to take my beating. The cop gave me a brief lecture on the evils of careless driving, and then told me the fine for the combined offenses would be $75. I asked him, “What will it cost me if I paid the fine on the spot?â€â€¦he wrote $55 on a scrap of paper. I paid him the cash. After tucking the money in his shirt pocket, he smiled and said, “No problemo, amigo…no ticket…disfruten su viaje en Costa Rica.†The cop cost me the equivalent of one chica…I got phucked… but it did not bring a smile to my face!
Happy Motoring in CR!
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