Sep

2

Hone Creek - Puerto Viejo Road Dangerous for Your Lungs and Limbs

September 2, 2008 | Tags: Economic Development, Government and Politics, Health, Transport | Leave a Comment

Dust filled road between Hone Creek and Puerto Viejo
Kely, David, Nelson & Kenia Chaves travel 3 km each day to school in a cloud of dust . Photo by Mario Rojas, courtesy of La Nación.

Anyone who has traveled the road between Hone Creek and Puerto Viejo knows what a danger it is: unpaved, huge potholes, full of dust, lacking in signage, shared by bicycles and cars and pedestrians with no separation between them. It has always been a strange exception in that the route between San Jose and Hone Creek is one of the better routes in the country, but those last 5 kilometers to Puerto Viejo remind you you’re still in the developing world.

Locals have been complaining to the municipality for years to get the road paved. The municipality always responded that they didn’t have the money to fix the road. Finally last year, the road was declared a national route by CONAVI, the national roads council.

But so far the Conavi designation hasn’t translated into a road up to standards. The minimum width of a nationally designated road is 20 meters. Darwin Mena, an engineer working with Conavi, said that this road at points is only half that and that the width is encroached upon at several points by buildings owned by the Municipality of Talamanca which need to be removed.

Neighbors complain that the many cars and buses traveling at high speeds are a daily risk to people on bicycles and on foot that are covered by clouds of dust. Not only does the narrow potholed road cause collisions, the clinic in Hone Creek reports that they treat at least 4 people each week who were hit by stones thrown up from the road.

At the Hone Creek clinic doctors have also reported another hazard of the road — increased cases of asthma. The cases have been reported by those who need to commute the road daily by bicycle, children who walk along the road to get to school and those living near the dusty road. The director of the clinic, Wilman Rojas said that 80% of those living on the edge of the road are suffering from respiratory problems.

Eddie Ryan of the Chamber of Tourism says “As inhabitants of this place, we feel completely abandoned. Puerto Viejo is a unique tourist destination and the need for repair of this road is urgent.”

Ryan stated that the road receives maintenance every six months, but weeks later is damaged again. “The grader scrapes the street and spreads the material, but when it rains you lose all the work.”

The engineer Mena said that the repair of the road could be done in two years. Funds are supposed to be budgeted for 2010 to execute the work.

More:

Aug

7

Getting to Puerto Viejo will be more Expensive

August 7, 2008 | Tags: Tourism, Transport | Leave a Comment

The regulator has approved bus rate increases on long distance bus routes effective in one week.

The rates will increase as follows:

Route Old Price New Price Approx in US$
San Jose - Limon 2,180 col 2,460 col $4.50
San Jose - Cahuita 3,455 col 3,900 col $7.10
San Jose - Puerto Viejo 4,020 col 4,535 col $8.30

The schedules will remain the same.

Interbus and Grayline have also announced rate increases effective Dec 1st, 2008. The rate for hotel-to-hotel San Jose to Puerto Viejo area will go from $35 to $39.  The rate from Puerto Viejo to La Fortuna/Arenal will increase from $45 to $49.  Schedules and the booking form for the shuttles can be found on the transportation page or you can go directly to the booking form here to search routes, schedules and prices nationally.

Finally, prices for private transport between the Caribbean and San Jose will also be going up.  The best price we have been able to obtain for our clients between Puerto Viejo and San Jose is going up from $160 to $190 effective November 30th.  This is for a 10 passenger van which can accomodate up to 8 people comfortably with luggage.  This service is popular with people who want to maximize their vacation on the coast as the driver will meet their flight at the international airport and bring them straight to their Puerto Viejo hotel or vacation rental house so it’s still a bargain considering the option is often losing a day of your vacation waiting in San Jose for the next day’s bus or shuttle.  The booking form where you can search rates nationally for this service and make a reservation is here.