El Camino de Costa Rica
Shannon went to Costa Rica in early May for yoga instructor training, of which she was a star student. But of course she was! Since Shannon was already down there, she thought to take advantage and hike from one coast to the other and invited me to join.
El Camino de Costa Rica isn’t so much a trail as it is a way through the mountains, plantations, and towns of a beautiful country: a Camino! Aside from a little more than 20 kilometers on single track trail, the route follows mostly dirt roads with some pavement mixed in near towns. Random camping is never permitted; accommodations are limited to local households, native lands or small eco-tourism lodges. The vast majority of these provide high quality meals and excellent company.
The people of Costa Rica are some of the most welcoming, happy and friendly people I have ever come across. They are consistently smiling, generous and stoked to share what they love about their home, even with us tourists. Not only do Costa Ricans live in an astoundingly beautiful place, they run on entirely renewable energy, expect to be carbon neutral by 2050, invest in rural public transportation, spend twice as much of their GDP as the western world on education and abolished their military in the 1940s. I felt safer in rural Costa Rica than I do in most of the rural United States.
This one was a cultural rather than a wilderness experience. Regardless, it is truly a remarkable place. I am forever grateful that Shannon can speak Spanish quite well, to the point that one person we met even said she speaks like a Costa Rican! Enjoy the images of our trip, which are mostly portraits of the beautiful and illustrious Shannon.
Pura Vida!
Distance: 276.9 kilometers
Termini: Caribbean Sea to Pacific Ocean
Total Elevation Change: 19,975.4 meters
Average Daily Distance: 34.6 kilometers
Days hiked: 8