Canada: Proceed With Caution

I set about planning 10 luxurious days on the cheap. My research was heavily supplemented by the advice of two close friends who had just returned from a three-month South American vacay-venture — the colorfully intoxicating streets of Rio, Brazil during Carnival, through the sleepy towns of Venezuela, steak and wine in Argentina, all culminating in one month of relaxation in the surf town of Manuel Antonio, where they soon became known locals. I decided to heed their advice and go Pacific-side to Dominical, via Quepos. I was stoked.

But wait. In order to get there, I had to travel from San Jose. Even my friends, two experienced and street-savvy travelers, said the ‘Coca Cola’ bus station in San Jose was to be avoided, especially for a lone female traveler. They suggested I take a plane from San Jose to Quepos, and bypass the notorious station altogether.

And then there was the hurricane season of 2005 devastating the US Gulf Coast, Mexico and the Caribbean, and nearly exhausting the English alphabet with a record 27 named storms — 15 hurricanes: seven major, four reaching an unprecedented category five status. In the week before my scheduled Costa Rican rendezvous, landslides due to heavy rainfall hit Costa Rica and Honduras, making headlines back in Canada. Hurricane Stan was gearing up, not to be outshone by the unladylike tantrums of Hurricane Rita. It wasn’t looking good.

Friends and family started urging against my trip. I too, started re-thinking my itinerary. Was this a case of over-protectiveness or was I being naïve? I did some last minute research. Turns out, on the website for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Canadian travelers to Costa Rica are to exercise a high degree of caution. We’re to be “vigilant” at all times.