What did we do?
Day 4: We left Tamarindo around 10:00 am for the 2-hour drive to Bijagua. We were using Waze as our navigation app and it took us south-east on Rt 21, towards Nicoya, then turned north-west on Rt 18 crossing the Friendship Bridge over the muddy, Tempisque River before joining up with Rt. 1, and finally north on Rt 6 towards Bijagua.
Being March, and near the end of the dry season, the landscape was quite dry and brown, but as we began to climb in elevation on Rt. 6 it became progressively greener and cooler. The website Two Weeks in Costa Rica has a great post on Bijagua.
We arrived just after lunch and wanted to do some walking so Daniel, the owner at Sueno Celeste, suggested a hike to Bijagua Waterfalls. The trail begins at Cataratas Bijagua Lodge. As we began the hike the person working at Bijagua Lodge warned us that while the distance was short it was a difficult hike: he was right. The first kilometre is on a deceptively gentle wide path through the forest, and then the rest of the trail is a series of ups and downs, often on some very steep stairs. This is when being short is a complete disadvantage and I had to put aside all common wisdom about not grabbing onto trees in the rainforest as I often needed those tree branches and trunks for support to navigate the steep stairs. The hike took us about 3 hours to complete.
Being March, and near the end of the dry season, the landscape was quite dry and brown, but as we began to climb in elevation on Rt. 6 it became progressively greener and cooler. The website Two Weeks in Costa Rica has a great post on Bijagua.
We arrived just after lunch and wanted to do some walking so Daniel, the owner at Sueno Celeste, suggested a hike to Bijagua Waterfalls. The trail begins at Cataratas Bijagua Lodge. As we began the hike the person working at Bijagua Lodge warned us that while the distance was short it was a difficult hike: he was right. The first kilometre is on a deceptively gentle wide path through the forest, and then the rest of the trail is a series of ups and downs, often on some very steep stairs. This is when being short is a complete disadvantage and I had to put aside all common wisdom about not grabbing onto trees in the rainforest as I often needed those tree branches and trunks for support to navigate the steep stairs. The hike took us about 3 hours to complete.
Day 5: Our main purpose in coming to Bijagua was to visit Tenorio National Park, see the waterfall and hike Rio Celeste. After a delicious breakfast at Sueno Celeste we drove the 20 minutes to Tenorio National Park (park entrance fee is $12 per person ). The entire road to Tenorio from Bijaqua is now paved and it is an easy* drive.
We hiked the entire length of the trail to the Tenediros where the two rivers meet and the river becomes blue. We were lucky that it had been fairly dry and so the trail was relatively free from mud. I had heard different opinions about the difficulty of the hike, but I didn't find the walking too strenuous, with only a couple of tricky ups and downs on the trail that extends beyond the waterfall stairs to the lagoon. I can imagine it would be pretty awful had there been a lot of rain and mud. On the day we went there were people of all ages walking the trail.
My Tan Feet has an excellent description of the park and the hike, another good description of the hike is at Two Week in Costa Rica, The Enchanting Rio Celeste. Here is another good description of the hike from someone else's blog.
We hiked the entire length of the trail to the Tenediros where the two rivers meet and the river becomes blue. We were lucky that it had been fairly dry and so the trail was relatively free from mud. I had heard different opinions about the difficulty of the hike, but I didn't find the walking too strenuous, with only a couple of tricky ups and downs on the trail that extends beyond the waterfall stairs to the lagoon. I can imagine it would be pretty awful had there been a lot of rain and mud. On the day we went there were people of all ages walking the trail.
My Tan Feet has an excellent description of the park and the hike, another good description of the hike is at Two Week in Costa Rica, The Enchanting Rio Celeste. Here is another good description of the hike from someone else's blog.
*Easy drive to Tenorio, except watch for unexpected cows
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| Almost at the bottom Rio Celeste Waterfall |
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| Rio Celeste Lagoon |
Tenediros, where the rivers meet
We had left our luggage at Sueno Celeste and after the hike returned to pick it up and continue on to La Fortuna. Daniel's wife recommended that we take the more scenic drive on Rt 927 through Tierras Morenas and then around Lake Arenal on route Rt 142. We were a little surprised to discover that Rt 927 was unpaved, and were glad we were driving an SUV as there were a few rough spots. Much of this road follows a ridge with spectacular views of Tenorio Volcano on one side and an expansive vista over the hills towards the west coast on the other side. Below is a video of the roughest part of that road.
Where did we stay?
We stayed at Sueno Celeste B&B ($144 per night). This a wonderful property on the edge of Bijagua with beautiful gardens, many birds and views of the Miravelles and Tenorio Volcanoes. We stayed in the the Hummingbird Cabin which was charmingly decorated and spotlessly clean. The cabins do not have air conditioning, but there was no need. The weather cools at night with a persistent breeze. We did not even need to use the standing fans that were provided. The property also has a small pool and a hot tub.
Breakfast at Sueno Celeste
Where did we eat?
Breakfast was included at Sueno Celeste. It was one of our favourite breakfast settings with views to the garden and many birds coming to feed on the fruits that had been left out. We had juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, fruit, and home-baked breads.On the recommendation of Daniel at Seuno Celeste we had a very good dinner at Manti's ($60 for dinner for 3). Steve enjoyed his filet mignon, and I thought the tacos were quite good. I would recommend this restaurant.
Next: Days 5-7 Arenal
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