Monday 26 October 2009

Costa Rican Adventures . . . potholes and Oil Drums

Today I'll start a little service we'll call "Ask Berni" . . . every day we dispense info about traveling in Costa Rica . . . as guests ask interesting questions, I'll post new entries here. We'll start with a common question to get the idea going:



Today's Question:
I will be driving to Monteverde - do I need a 4WD - will a RAV4 or a Terrios work? It seems like a short ride from Arenal to Monteverde, Jim

Jim,
Regarding the car: you do not need a 4WD for the traction, more the ground clearance in Monteverde. Neither small 4WD has a huge amount of ground clearance but better than the standard 2WD's. Let me know if you want either and they can be delivered to your breakfast table on the 17th - say - at 8am?
The other thing to be aware of is the seemingly short driving distance between Arenal and Monteverde. The problem is you have to add the distance DOWN one side, ACROSS the center and then UP the other side of each pothole between Arenal and Monteverde.
Then, for those potholes which are too deep (when viewed with the naked eye, you can't see bottom), you need to add the distance required to circumnavigate the crater. For those potholes too wide to circumnavigate (fill most of the road) you need to add in the off road detours required to avoid them completely. Then there is a final category of pothole which I call "whatonearthweretheythinking whentheytriedtofilltheholewithan oldoildrum".


This category takes the longest to navigate because everyone will want to get out and take photos of it - this slows you down to a dead halt.

Of course this diatribe on potholes doesn't stop many hardy souls from doing it in a nice Daihatsu Terrios - the most widely rented car in Costa Rica - um also a 4WD (the road to Monteverde is sometimes the third worst road in Costa Rica).

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