I set out at 10:00AM this morning from the Arenel Volcano Observatory Lodge to Tenorio Volcano National Park...a 54 mile drive. The trip took over six hours on some of the absolute worst "roads" imaginable...these roads made the Labrador Highway look like a sheet of glass.
The weather this morning was overcast and rainy...and I gave some thought to staying an extra day at Arenel. But, after much thought, I decided to move on.
Due to a programming error on my Garmin GPS, I ended up going about twelve miles in the opposite direction to start out. This was OK, however, because I was able to get gas before proceeding on to Tenorio.
Now heading in the opposite direction, the Garmin had me turning on a tiny dirt road to the "campsites" at Tenorio. After five miles or so,m the road was so bad, I had to turn back. So...I rerouted and ended up on a road only slightly better. It took me alomost an hour to cover one stretch of eight miles.
Finally. around 3:30PM, I reached the Park entrance.
ATTENTION: Frommer's, Fodor's, Moon and Lonely Planet Travel Guides. There is NO, I repeat NO, camping at the north entrance of Tenorio Volcano National Park. I know this because after about ten miles on another unbelievably bad stretch of road, I reached the Park entrance , and the Ranger informed me that there was no camping.
After a few minutes of skimming my Travel Guides (now proven to be unreliable), I ended up going back a few miles to the Celeste Mountain Lodge...very nice, beautiful view, meals included, French owner...all good. But "good" carries a heavy price. So, today, I am exceeding my daily travel budget by 50%.
It's all OK...I actually enjoyed the driving. And, while I am disappointed that I will not be able to camp tonight, I will be eating a French meal at dinner and sleeping in another big and comfy bed.
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