Guidebook for Costa Rica (San Ramón)
Local Cultural Experiences
We are an American-Costa Rican couple with our roots in San Ramon and family throughout Costa Rica. If the best part of traveling for you is experiencing the natural culture and true essence of the people, that is our desire. So here is some great ideas to get you started.
Nearly every city in Costa Rica has a Catholic church as its cultural center with an adjacent central park.
Go into town and park at the church. It will cost you ~800 Colones per hour (~532 Colones = $1) but the parking is secure, nearly always available unless there is a Mass, and straight forward (it can be hard to determine where you can legally park on the street and often times vagrants will expect payment from you for "parking assistance and security").
You can visit the church, park, shops, banks, Pop's ice cream shop, and walk one block to the central market. A couple of our favorite things to do at the central market is 1) have a Chinchivi, which is a traditional drink of San Ramon of flavored syrup and sugar cane carbonation. The vendor is in the Southwest corner of the market, 2) buy some chorizo (sausage) or fresh fruit from one of the vendors for tomorrow’s breakfast, 3) check out the men playing dominoes.
San Ramón Nonato parish
Calle 0Nearly every city in Costa Rica has a Catholic church as its cultural center with an adjacent central park.
Go into town and park at the church. It will cost you ~800 Colones per hour (~532 Colones = $1) but the parking is secure, nearly always available unless there is a Mass, and straight forward (it can be hard to determine where you can legally park on the street and often times vagrants will expect payment from you for "parking assistance and security").
You can visit the church, park, shops, banks, Pop's ice cream shop, and walk one block to the central market. A couple of our favorite things to do at the central market is 1) have a Chinchivi, which is a traditional drink of San Ramon of flavored syrup and sugar cane carbonation. The vendor is in the Southwest corner of the market, 2) buy some chorizo (sausage) or fresh fruit from one of the vendors for tomorrow’s breakfast, 3) check out the men playing dominoes.
La Feria, the Farmers Market - An amazing local experience of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, street food, plants, etc.! A must see ONLY on Friday and Saturday afternoons/evenings, and a great place to stock up for your meals for the week. Different from the U.S., the feria will be much less expensive then the grocery store (and the quality is way better).
San Ramon Farmer Fair
Avenida 16La Feria, the Farmers Market - An amazing local experience of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, street food, plants, etc.! A must see ONLY on Friday and Saturday afternoons/evenings, and a great place to stock up for your meals for the week. Different from the U.S., the feria will be much less expensive then the grocery store (and the quality is way better).
San Ramon Centro is a great place to observe the local culture and soak in the spirit of her people.
Nearly every city in Costa Rica has a Catholic church as its cultural center with an adjacent central park.
Go into town and park at the church. It will cost you ~800 Colones per hour (~570 Colones = $1) but the parking is secure, nearly always available unless there is a Mass, and straight forward (it can be hard to determine where you can legally park on the street and often times vagrants will expect payment from you for "parking assistance and security").
You can visit the church, park, shops, banks, Pop's ice cream shop, and walk one block to the central market. A couple of our favorite things to do at the central market is 1) have a Chinchivi, which is a traditional drink of San Ramon of flavored syrup and sugar cane carbonation. The vendor is in the Southwest corner of the market, 2) buy some chorizo (sausage) or fresh fruit from one of the vendors for tomorrow’s breakfast, 3) check out the men playing dominoes.
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San Ramon
San Ramon Centro is a great place to observe the local culture and soak in the spirit of her people.
Nearly every city in Costa Rica has a Catholic church as its cultural center with an adjacent central park.
Go into town and park at the church. It will cost you ~800 Colones per hour (~570 Colones = $1) but the parking is secure, nearly always available unless there is a Mass, and straight forward (it can be hard to determine where you can legally park on the street and often times vagrants will expect payment from you for "parking assistance and security").
You can visit the church, park, shops, banks, Pop's ice cream shop, and walk one block to the central market. A couple of our favorite things to do at the central market is 1) have a Chinchivi, which is a traditional drink of San Ramon of flavored syrup and sugar cane carbonation. The vendor is in the Southwest corner of the market, 2) buy some chorizo (sausage) or fresh fruit from one of the vendors for tomorrow’s breakfast, 3) check out the men playing dominoes.
Walk one block from the Church to the central market (one block North of the park). A couple of our favorite things to do at the central market is 1) have a Chinchivi, which is a traditional drink of San Ramon of flavored syrup and sugar cane carbonation. The vendor is in the Southwest corner of the market. 2) buy some chorizo (sausage) or fresh fruit from one of the vendors for tomorrow’s breakfast. 3) check out the men playing dominoes.
Mercado Municipal de San Ramon
Avenida 3Walk one block from the Church to the central market (one block North of the park). A couple of our favorite things to do at the central market is 1) have a Chinchivi, which is a traditional drink of San Ramon of flavored syrup and sugar cane carbonation. The vendor is in the Southwest corner of the market. 2) buy some chorizo (sausage) or fresh fruit from one of the vendors for tomorrow’s breakfast. 3) check out the men playing dominoes.
Nature and Places
Here are some day/overnight trips outside the San Ramon area.
This city is a cultural gem, close to the house, with a history of furniture making and traditional crafts. Great for souvenir shopping.
30 minutes from the house.
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Sarchi
This city is a cultural gem, close to the house, with a history of furniture making and traditional crafts. Great for souvenir shopping.
30 minutes from the house.
A beautiful little town at the base of the Arenal Volcano and a beautiful, short 2 hour drive from the house. A great day trip.
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La Fortuna
A beautiful little town at the base of the Arenal Volcano and a beautiful, short 2 hour drive from the house. A great day trip.
One of the most moving things I’ve ever experienced was the faith of the Costa Rican people surrounding the annual August 1st pilgrimage. If you’re ever in the Country in late July, you will find hundreds and thousands of people from every corner of the country, walking miles from their home town to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles in Cartago (one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen).
2 hours from the house.
Check out these videos of the romeros (pilgrims’) experience.
https://youtu.be/SM2z_PehoSw
https://youtu.be/8UCgp3wQtSQ
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Drottning Engla
Calle 1One of the most moving things I’ve ever experienced was the faith of the Costa Rican people surrounding the annual August 1st pilgrimage. If you’re ever in the Country in late July, you will find hundreds and thousands of people from every corner of the country, walking miles from their home town to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles in Cartago (one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen).
2 hours from the house.
Check out these videos of the romeros (pilgrims’) experience.
https://youtu.be/SM2z_PehoSw
https://youtu.be/8UCgp3wQtSQ
Palmares in January - If you are visiting in early January, be sure to check out the world famous Fiestas de Palmares, just five miles from our house. With mega bars, concerts, bullfights (Tico style), carnivals and more, the Palmares Festival is the biggest festival of the year with an estimated million attendees and considered by many to be the best festival in the country. 15 minutes from the house.
Palmares
Palmares in January - If you are visiting in early January, be sure to check out the world famous Fiestas de Palmares, just five miles from our house. With mega bars, concerts, bullfights (Tico style), carnivals and more, the Palmares Festival is the biggest festival of the year with an estimated million attendees and considered by many to be the best festival in the country. 15 minutes from the house.
This is not the beach town American tourists go to. The closest thing I can equate Puntarenas to is old school Daytona Beach, PURE Tico! Sand and surf vibe through and through. Worth a day trip, a beautiful drive down early in the morning, spend the day on the beach, eating food and strolling the street vendors. Be sure to find some green mango (w/vinegar and salt...a MUST have!) and when you’re really hot, get a Churchill’s (with condensed milk).
1 hour from the house.
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Punta Arenas
This is not the beach town American tourists go to. The closest thing I can equate Puntarenas to is old school Daytona Beach, PURE Tico! Sand and surf vibe through and through. Worth a day trip, a beautiful drive down early in the morning, spend the day on the beach, eating food and strolling the street vendors. Be sure to find some green mango (w/vinegar and salt...a MUST have!) and when you’re really hot, get a Churchill’s (with condensed milk).
1 hour from the house.
You want to make this an overnight trip. Again, our favorite
places are not the American tourist spots (and there are
plenty of thermal volcanic baths that cater to them) but the
local hang-outs. This place is magical and you want to spend the day and night walking down the path to the thermal pools, scheduling a message in the forest (so affordable you’ll want to do it every day you’re there) and drink a frozen drink or cerveza Imperial at the swim-up bar.
1 hour 45 minutes from the house.
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Termales del Bosque
You want to make this an overnight trip. Again, our favorite
places are not the American tourist spots (and there are
plenty of thermal volcanic baths that cater to them) but the
local hang-outs. This place is magical and you want to spend the day and night walking down the path to the thermal pools, scheduling a message in the forest (so affordable you’ll want to do it every day you’re there) and drink a frozen drink or cerveza Imperial at the swim-up bar.
1 hour 45 minutes from the house.
A great day trip and beautiful 2 hour drive from the house. An active volcano, but dormant since 2010, with amazing vistas and at the east end of Lake Arenal. Awesome hiking and abundant thermal baths surround the area.
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Arenal Volcano
A great day trip and beautiful 2 hour drive from the house. An active volcano, but dormant since 2010, with amazing vistas and at the east end of Lake Arenal. Awesome hiking and abundant thermal baths surround the area.
Another active volcano with a beautiful observation area and hikes to the crater lake, only 1 hour 45 minutes from the house. Since its last eruptions in 2017 and 2019, and due to frequent sulfur emissions, reservations and advanced tickets are currently required and the crater lake is closed.
visit serviciosenlinea DOT sinac DOT go DOT cr
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Poás Volcano
Another active volcano with a beautiful observation area and hikes to the crater lake, only 1 hour 45 minutes from the house. Since its last eruptions in 2017 and 2019, and due to frequent sulfur emissions, reservations and advanced tickets are currently required and the crater lake is closed.
visit serviciosenlinea DOT sinac DOT go DOT cr
Just outside a very short distance from the thermal baths at Termales de Bosque, is La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center. Worth the visit during your stay at Termales de Bosque.
1 hour 45 minutes from the house.
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Marina Villtýra Björgunarmiðstöð
Just outside a very short distance from the thermal baths at Termales de Bosque, is La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center. Worth the visit during your stay at Termales de Bosque.
1 hour 45 minutes from the house.
Yet ANOTHER amazing popular place to visit within a 45 minutes drive from the house. This does require a moderate level hike but it’s beautiful and the payoff is amazing! You're likely to run into some horses so bring some carrots or apples to feed them. And your shoes will get wet. Go in the early morning and pay the small extra fee for lunch after your hike. You’ll be hungry, there’s not much else close AND the natural fruit juices and food is delicious!
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Bajos del Toro
Yet ANOTHER amazing popular place to visit within a 45 minutes drive from the house. This does require a moderate level hike but it’s beautiful and the payoff is amazing! You're likely to run into some horses so bring some carrots or apples to feed them. And your shoes will get wet. Go in the early morning and pay the small extra fee for lunch after your hike. You’ll be hungry, there’s not much else close AND the natural fruit juices and food is delicious!
Food Scene
"Pops" is Costa Rica's Baskin Robin. Stop into one of the ice cream shops around the park, or better yet, find a snow cone cart on the street. Be sure to have either a Churchills or granizado/copos (snow cone) with sweetened condensed milk. Trust us, they’re delicious.
See my section below called the "13 Foods You Have to Try in Costa Rica"
Pops
141"Pops" is Costa Rica's Baskin Robin. Stop into one of the ice cream shops around the park, or better yet, find a snow cone cart on the street. Be sure to have either a Churchills or granizado/copos (snow cone) with sweetened condensed milk. Trust us, they’re delicious.
See my section below called the "13 Foods You Have to Try in Costa Rica"
Buying fresh baked bread is a daily experience for many Costa Ricans that you should enjoy with them while you are there. Follow your nose and try to choose from an amazing assortment of bread and pastries for your car trip or for back at the house for your morning or afternoon coffee. Ahhh....pura vida.
This panaderia (bakery) is one of our favorites and convenient on your way into or out of San Ramon (near the farmers market). A third generation family business now run by the grandson, who you will often times find behind the counter helping you.
La Carillo Panaderia
Buying fresh baked bread is a daily experience for many Costa Ricans that you should enjoy with them while you are there. Follow your nose and try to choose from an amazing assortment of bread and pastries for your car trip or for back at the house for your morning or afternoon coffee. Ahhh....pura vida.
This panaderia (bakery) is one of our favorites and convenient on your way into or out of San Ramon (near the farmers market). A third generation family business now run by the grandson, who you will often times find behind the counter helping you.
If you travel to Zarcero via route 141, you have to stop at our favorite roadside stand to buy some of Costa Rica's most prized cheese, Queso Palmito.
https://theculturetrip.com/central-america/costa-rica/articles/palmito-became-costa-ricas-prized-cheese/
Tramo Las Hortensias
Ruta Nacional Secundaria 141If you travel to Zarcero via route 141, you have to stop at our favorite roadside stand to buy some of Costa Rica's most prized cheese, Queso Palmito.
https://theculturetrip.com/central-america/costa-rica/articles/palmito-became-costa-ricas-prized-cheese/
Souvenirs
I know it says "restaurant" but it's also a HUGE souvenir store, with many, many hand made crafts, coffee, T-shrits, Llazano, guado, you name it! And it is SO close to the house. Worth stopping in to check it out. Walk to the garden and ask about the butterfly aviary (you’ll find the amazing morpho blue there).
P.S. The restaurant is a great place to sample different authentic Tico foods, buffet style, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Restaurante El Jardín
I know it says "restaurant" but it's also a HUGE souvenir store, with many, many hand made crafts, coffee, T-shrits, Llazano, guado, you name it! And it is SO close to the house. Worth stopping in to check it out. Walk to the garden and ask about the butterfly aviary (you’ll find the amazing morpho blue there).
P.S. The restaurant is a great place to sample different authentic Tico foods, buffet style, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Activities
If zip-lining is one of the activities on your list, this park is the closest to the house. The drive there is beautiful and they have multiple lines, a suspended bridge, food options, artisan beer...all in an amazing natural setting. 45 minutes from the house.
P.S. Even if you don't go for the ziplining, worth a visit for the nature trails and amazing bird and nature watching.
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Adventure Park San Luis
If zip-lining is one of the activities on your list, this park is the closest to the house. The drive there is beautiful and they have multiple lines, a suspended bridge, food options, artisan beer...all in an amazing natural setting. 45 minutes from the house.
P.S. Even if you don't go for the ziplining, worth a visit for the nature trails and amazing bird and nature watching.
Skip Big Coffee and visit an organic family plantation. This experience is authentic, the closet to the house, and an amazing educational experience. Walk the plantation, taste the coffee, learn about the alternative products being made from the coffee bean, and if you like what you see and taste, they have a small gift store as well. Reservations required.
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El Toledo Coffee Tour
Skip Big Coffee and visit an organic family plantation. This experience is authentic, the closet to the house, and an amazing educational experience. Walk the plantation, taste the coffee, learn about the alternative products being made from the coffee bean, and if you like what you see and taste, they have a small gift store as well. Reservations required.
Borgartillaga
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Sharing the Soul of Costa Rica
My first visit to Costa Rica in 2010 was driven by a desire to connect with a culture that had not forgotten its religious roots. If you come to visit and only see the natural beauty and experience the eco-tourism, you would be blessed enough. But if you desire to share her soul then pay special attention to the opportunities the culture offers to feed it.
If you’re visiting Costa Rica you probably already have an adventurous spirit. So here are some tips and advice to help you push that spirit to the limits and have an experience you will never forget (and which few others will ever have).
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Your Adventure Begins the Moment You Leave the Airport
The drive from the Juan Santamaria Airport will begin your adventure. You’ll take the Pan American Highway (CR1) north and west to San Ramon/Alajuela. CR1 is a beautiful drive so try to arrive during the day. As you wind your way up through the valleys of sugar cane fields and coffee plantations, stop along the way at a roadside vendor. Depending on the time of year they may be selling Flor de Itabo (Carmen’s favorite with eggs), miel (local honey), prestinos, cocos frio, and/or fruit. Be adventurous. Stop and buy what’s available to enjoy on your final minutes to the house.
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Semana Santa - Holy Week in Costa Rica!
Visiting a Catholic culture during Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday) should be on everyone’s bucket list. You simply can’t separate what so many ex-pats and others say they love about the simpler life in Costa Rica, with the processions and festivals tied to their Catholic faith, intended to draw one closer to the seminal historical events which happened many centuries ago.
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The History of Our House – A Monkey Rescue Sanctuary
The Magallanes area was originally a large coffee plantation. One of the original owners of the A-frame house (one of the houses you may pass through to visit the river) wrote a book about their experience called “Unraveling the Mysteries of Moving to Costa Rica”.
A copy of the book can be found on the book shelf in the great room of the Villa.
A few years after the other two houses further down our access road were built in 2006, our house was built by a couple who started a monkey rescue/sanctuary in 2011.
spidermonkeyrehab dot com/our-center.html
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Weather
Pieces of Dreams Ticos (Villa Magallanes & the Tucan Casita) sits at an elevation of 3,100 feet and the year-round temperature varies from 60-85 degrees on average (typical 65-80). Rainy season (and we mean rainy) is June-November and the dry season is December-May.
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Nature
We are in a tropical, mountain area, bordering on a national preserve (Tanaca National Forest). You will find pumas, snakes and other wildlife, most of which is far less dangerous, like monkeys, including some of the most beautiful birds, including toucans, hummingbirds, Chachalacas, motmots, flycatchers, woodpeckers, resplendent quetzals, and macaws. Also spotted on our property have been opossums, skunks, anteaters, wolverines, agouti, coatimundis, and ocelots, to name a few.
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Get To Know Your Neighbors
We will have visits occasionally by the neighbors' dogs (all are very friendly) and even a cow periodically from the dairy farm down the road, who wanders off for a day trip to “greener pastures”.
During parts of the year you could find yourself socked in, surrounded by clouds, only to clear up by evening so that you can see the night lights of Puntarenas.
At the top of Calle Magallanes is an innocent and popular lovers point with the local adolescentes.
Enjoy your stay and the pura vida, the pure life of Costa Rica.
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13 Food You Have to Try In Costa Rica
True "rice and beans" will be hard to find unless you travel to the Caribbean side of the country but if you get a chance be sure to have it for it's unique blend of flavors.
Another very unique item to have, especially if you are in Costa Rica during Holy Week or Easter is the "Flor de Itabo" usually cooked with eggs!. Try it.
And if you enjoy adult beverages, I'd add "artisan beers" (what they call "craft beer" in CR) and Chili-Guaro (a tomato based, bloody Mary-esk shot).
https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/costa-rica/balance#cook
https://matadornetwork.com/trips/13-foods-try-costa-rica/
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Roadside Vendors
Seasonally you can buy Flor de Tabo, the flower of the Yucca plant, usually around Easter/Spring. A traditional item sauteed and eaten with scrambled eggs. A little bitter, acquired taste, packed full of nutrients.
http://drhealthbenefits DOT com/herbal/herbal-plant/health-benefits-yucca-flower
Coco Frio/Pipa Fria (cold coconut water). Must have. The vendor will cut it open for you and give you a straw. VERY refreshing and also super healthy. Probably one of the best survival foods available.
Miel y Prestinos (local honey w/deep fried dough cakes).