Camino de Costa Rica: an adventure as soon as you arrive

What makes everything possible

When walking this route through Costa Rica, many logistical aspects were taken into account beforehand. Each night’s stay had to be booked in advance (preferably at least 1 week). This helps these rooms, often very remote, to be properly adapted. Unfortunately, this also meant I had to pre-plan mileage and days, something I don’t normally like, but am more than willing to accept as needed here.

For the detailed planning process I used the FarOut app to navigate the trail; check mileage, compare homestay options and finally collect contact information for each stay. I also choose to communicate and book in chronological order. This was important to me because if a spot was full or unavailable, my mileage and my plan for the next few days’ stay could be affected, changing my entire itinerary.

Below is an example of the message templates you would send to each potential host:
*I chose to communicate primarily in Spanish, as it was a great way to practice, as well as a sure way to know that they understood what I was asking. A few times FarOut received a note that the host spoke English, and then I chose that option. I also used translation apps if I needed a little help with translation!

Here’s an example of how I kept track of when and where I would stay on my phone:

Getting to the trail

Finally! We actually made it to Parismina and the beginning of this! This was a fun little logistical adventure in itself.

Stage 1

This long day began at 7:30 am at the Gran Terminal del Caribe bus station in San José. To make sure I had a seat, I bought my ticket in advance for this leg. A quiet, picturesque hour and a half later I was transported from the central mountains of San José to the hot, sticky Caribbean lowlands of Siquirres.

In Siquirres I had two full hours to get last minute supplies. I quickly bought my ticket to Caño Blanco shortly after arriving, then headed to the local park. Here I came across a series of rugby matches for local children. I spent the rest of the time in the shade of the park, among the parents, watching the children play. This certainly defeated the oppressively stagnant hot and humid air of the bus station. I also had some nice conversations with the locals in the best Spanish I could conjure. This was the first of many of those “how the hell did I get here” moments. This is what traveling is all about!

siquirres bus terminal

Stage 2

The bus to Caño Blanco was a commuter route and made many stops. Progressively, the dusty road became increasingly remote, passing through sparsely populated farming communities. The temperature on the bus also literally seemed like a sauna. Today the heat index was well over 100. Even with all the windows and even the front door wide open, it did almost nothing to relieve the heat. I was happy to get off that bus.

Common views from Siquirres to Caño Blanco

Stage 3

Once in Caño Blanco, the road officially ends. From here they are purely aquatic paths. Some locals, with a large haul of groceries from Siquirres, and I sat along the canal and waited for the next public boat to take us to Parismina, where the walk finally began!

This walk through the incredibly lush jungle lined canal was amazing. It really gave me the feeling of “I’m so far from here,” and it was the first time I felt really dizzy from what I was doing.

Something I also found very interesting is that about 20% of the canals throughout the Caribbean were dredged by the government. This formed a continuous waterway, thus connecting remote communities and generally improving access to the area, not only for locals but also tourists.

On the way

About 10 minutes later, I got off at Parismina, the location of CDCR’s eastern terminal. Fortunately, since it was oppressively hot today, I only had about 3 miles to walk, and they were exclusively within sight or earshot of the Caribbean Sea. I walked ceremoniously to the water and dove in, marking the beginning of a walk from sea to sea.

The first few hundred meters of walking were on a stretch of airstrip, before heading onto a single track trail under the rainforest canopy. Within that short section of trail I saw howler monkeys, leafcutter ants, and plenty of birds, and eventually ended up at the site of my first night on the trail; the wonderful Caribbean paradise that is Green Gold Lodge.

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