The fare between San Jose and Puerto Viejo will increase from 4,290 colones to 4,545 colones (that’s $8.30 at current exchange rates).  Some other new rates are:

The fare increases take effect next Tuesday, March 9.

More:

• La Nación: Tarifas de bus subirán 5% en promedio en todo el país
• Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep)

May travelers had been reporting the poor state of the road, which was loaded with potholes that made driving hazardous.

The Ministry (MOPT) has also announced the continuation of work on the 18 kilometers on road from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. The ministry release did not specify the amount of money to be invested in the project or the timeframe.

Today’s MOPT inspection coincides with the visit of President Arias to the Puerto Limon, where he will be on hand to receive the first racers of the Transat.

More: La Nacion: MOPT realiza bacheo de emergencia en ruta Limón – Puerto Viejo

The prices are only available for tickets booked on their website by Sept 15 for travel completed by Oct 31 and is subject to availability. But there are real tickets for sale on this deal: I did a quick search for a flight between San Jose and Tortuguero in September and sure enough a $15 flight was offered.

Go to www.natureair.com, put in your flight search details and look for the “Locos” fare category.

Remember that these are small prop planes with strict luggage limits of 30 pounds (13.6 kg) per person. If you exceed this, expect to pay more for your excess luggage than you paid for  your ticket!

The fare from San Jose to Puerto Viejo will be reduced from 4,535 colones to 4,290 colones (about US$ 7.65 at current exchange rates).

The new rates take effect on Friday.

Source: Diario Extra: Pasajes Bajan Entre ¢10 Y ¢360

Since the taxis in Puerto Viejo operate without meters this is especially true.  There are customary rates that exist between points in the area. The taxi company Transportes Privados Jireh has made their rate sheet publicly available to Puerto Viejo Satellite and others for some time – we have just updated it on the transport page where you can find the latest rate sheet at any time.  

This doesn’t necessarily negate the need to negotiate and confirm the price before you start your ride. Knowing the rates will make people feel more comfortable in this process. The owner of Transportes Privados Jireh assures local businesses that if drivers charge you significantly more than is shown on the price sheet, call it into the office and they will be disciplined.

Transportes Privados Jireh can be reached at 2570-2073. They located on the main road in town just in front of the Sunrise backpackers lodge.

The other taxi company has categorically refused to publish a fixed price schedule and has not responded to complaints of customers being over charged. So if you use them, you’re on your own.

In the spirit of making travelers feel more welcome and comfortable with taxi service, local business owners are encouraged to print out the list of taxi rates and also avoid patronizing taxi drivers and companies who are charging exorbitant rates.

Unfortunately, the high water the coast had back at the end of November has messed up the banana canals and they now need dredging so the boat from Finca 60 is not running until further notice.  So the alternate route is required which is a shared taxi from the border to the somewhat more distant town of Almirante then a boat or ferry from there to Bocas town.

Please expect to pay a little more for the shared taxi between the border town (Guabito on the Panama side) and Almirante – the distance is further.  The standard fare there is typically $10 per person (insted of the $5 per person to Finca 60). The boat ride at $3 each is a little cheaper though.   There were various emails circulating that people though they were getting scammed by the taxi drivers in Guabito who wanted to bring them to Almirante only to get a larger fare and telling them Finca 60 was closed. Well it wasn’t a scam, it is unfortunately the truth.

The biggest lost is that it was a very pretty ride through the canals and so we hope this route will be reopened.

Please remember that there is a the option of booking a complete transit including pickup at  your hotel in Puerto Viejo all the way to the dock in Bocas town for only $34 per person – this includes the vehicle transport on both sides of the border and the boat ride.  You can book that on Gecko Trail Adventure’s shared ride shuttle form (just select Puerto Viejo as your pickup city and Bocas del Toro as your destination):

Construction crews worked all day today and a temporary crossing, suitable for all but buses and large trucks, is now open where the damaged bridge was on Playa Negra.

Construction crews finishing temporary crossing where the bridge at Playa Negra into Puerto Viejo had washed out.

Reports are also that the Margarita Road route between Cocles and Margarita is open so 4WD vehicles which want to get around the broken bridge at Playa Negra in Puerto Viejo to drive into town or to Cocles, Chiquita and Punta Uva can go that way.

(Almost) back to normal here on the Caribbean!

Cruz Roja rescues resident stranded by rising waters

La Nación is reporting the closure at 1 a.m. this morning of the Braulio Carrillo highway between San Jose and Limon due to 3 landslides on the route.  As well the alternate route through Turrialba is also blocked due to landslides between Turrialba and Siquirres. Finally they also say there is a road closure between Siquirres and Limon due to rising waters of the Chirripó River.

Earlier unconfirmed reports also said that the highway between Cahuita and Limon is also blocked due to rising waters of the Rio Estrella.  However, we just crossed the bridge and although the water is running fast there is no sign that the bridge was or is about to be overwhelmed by the water. A JAPDEVA employee stated that the full route between Hone Creek and Limon is open.  JAPDEVA and ICE crews were out in force on the roads.

Other rumours said that the bridge linking BriBri and Sixaola to Hone Creek and on the rest of the country is also unpassable but this is unconfirmed.   If anyone has photos or verification of this either way, please email editor@talamancanews.com.

MEPE´s San Jose office advised at 2pm today that there will be no more buses today but tommorow they advise simply ”vamos a ver” (let´s wait and see).

Besides the road closures, more than 4,000 people have been left temporarily homeless by the rain. The Cruz Roja has more than 50 staff working in the area and is mobilizing auxiliary forces to try and rescue people stranded by the storm.

Photos and further updates will be published as they become available.

Yesterday afternoon one of the bridges into Puerto Viejo washed out and it’s not clear when the heavy equipment needed to fix it would be brought in. The damage is extensive although pedestrians and bikes are making their way across a plank where the bridge came away from the road and then on to the bridge, the remains of which are listing at a 30 degree angle.

Bridge out into Puerto Viejo

By yesterday evening, the ground was so saturated and the rain was continuing to fall that water levels kept rising. At Hotel Banana Azul, where this reporter is located, the water rose about a meter in a matter of hours, cresting just half an inch short of the level of the main floor of the hotel before it started to recede.

Other places were not so lucky. Many houses were flooded and had to be evacuated.   At one hotel several trees were reported to have fallen on top of several of the cabinas.

Buses and some transportation continue to run however as the roads to Limon and to San Jose remain open. The MEPE transport bus is running into Puerto Viejo as far as Pulperia Violeta (Jeffrey’s) where people are walking to and from town.  Some other forms of transport have been canceled leaving travelers stranded and the bus oversold.

Lining up to leave at the bus stop about 1.5km north of downtown

The communities of Puerto Viejo, Cocles, Playa Chiquita, Punta Uva and Manzanillo are so far operating fairly normally with no major shortages reported. But getting supplies in will be difficult. Without the bridge on the main road into Puerto Viejo the only other option is Margarita Road, a 4WD only road over the mountains between Playa Cocles and the main highway to Sixaola.

Pedestrians and bikes are still making it across the bridge

Meanwhile La Nacion is reporting more than 2,000 people, mostly in smaller towns, needing shelter with some communities completely unreachable.