Dominical
The quiet little out of the way place, that's not so out of the way"
On the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica is one of the country's most beautiful uncut gems, Dominical. From its turquoise green water to its fiery red and gold sunsets, the natural beauty of the area is second to none.
The town sits on the Pacific ocean bordered to the north by the Rio Baru, on the east by three thousand foot high mountains and to the south by dark, coffee brown, beaches and coves. One of the most striking features of Dominical can be found while swimming in the water, the town simply disappears. All you see are the tall beach palms and mangroves surrounded by verdant green hills reaching up into the mountains.
Dominical has been known for many years to the international surfing community because of its consistently good waves. Only recently has it been discovered by those people attracted to its natural beauty. Not more than fifteen years ago the only buildings to be found were a few dilapidated fishing huts built by local fishermen. Since then the town has grown to over 700 permanent residents with a number of small beach front restaurants, bars and cabinas. Even with the emergence and growth of the town, it is possible to walk from one end of Dominical to the other in less than ten minutes.
The area surrounding Dominical, especially to the south, is almost completely unpopulated. Because of this, the area is full of hundreds of different species of exotic animals including; three different types of toucans, giant green and red iguanas, all four types of native monkeys, parrots of all sizes and hues, three toed sloths and various small cats such as jaguarundis and montegordos. These two types of cats are smaller versions of the spotted jaguar and black panther found to the south in the Osa Peninsula. They are extremely rare and this is one of their last natural habitats found in Central America.
There are two national preserves in the immediate area with three more (Manuel Antonio National Park, Corcovado National Park and CaÃ’o Island National Preserve) only an additional hour and a half away. North of town, on the other side of Rio Baru is Hacienda Baru, which is a private 1000 acre preserve. Stretching from the beach with its mangrove swamps filled with bright yellow beaked toucans to its primary forest crested hilltops, Hacienda Baru offers the ecological tourist the opportunity to see a wonderful diversity of tropical plants and animals. To the south is the country's only totally underwater national park, Marino Ballena. Here it is possible to see a pristine and virgin underwater world with scores of multi-colorful marine creatures, coral reefs and jagged, ash black, volcanic rocks and tide pools. In the hills directly east of town are areas of primary forest with numerous waterfalls throughout, including the county's tallest, a three level, 800 foot high mountain of cascading water.
Reaching Dominical and the surrounding area is easier than one might expect. It is a three and a half hour drive from San Jose by car through some of the most visually stunning scenery in the entire country. Traveling south down the Pan-American Highway below Cartago takes you through the country's largest cloud forest and the worlds last remaining, sustainable habitat, for the endangered quetzal. The trip by bus is only an hour more with one stop and change in San Isidro. It is only necessary to rent a four wheel drive car if you intend to do some exploring in the mountains or continue traveling further north or south. It is a one and a half hour drive to Quepos by car, 4x4 recommended, or an additional half hour by bus.
In a country full of beautiful vistas and lush tropical landscapes, this area not only holds its own, it shines. Dominical, the quiet little out of the way place that's not so out of the way.
Directions Dominical
When you are planning your trip down to La Escuelita de Dominical, it is important for you to know when your flight will arrive in San Jose. The reason for this is that if you arrive after 12pm it is not likely that you will be able to make the trip all the way to Dominical in the same day. If this happens you should probably make reservations to stay at a downtown San Jose hotel. We have a small, clean, comfortable ISLS guesthouse that is available to students. If you would like to stay there please try and let us know before hand as it can be very busy and we have a limited number of beds. The telephone/fax number of the ISLS house is (506) 222-9725. If you are going to Dominical or planning to stay at the ISLS house please print out and the directions below.
Directions
Plan on getting to the bus company at least an hour before your bus leaves. There are three different bus companies that have direct busses to San Isidro El General. This means that there is a bus leaving from San Jose every hour on the half-hour, starting at 5:30am and ending at 5:30pm. It is important to be on either the 9:30 am bus or at the latest, the 12:30pm bus. The reason for this is that in San Isidro there are two afternoon buses to Playa Dominical. The first bus from San Isidro leaves at 1:30pm and the last is at 4:00pm. The bus ride from San Jose to San Isidro takes about 3 hours, giving you plenty of time to make the connection, provided you don't cut it too close.
If you are going to take a taxi to the bus companies that go to San Isidro, just flag down a cab and say to the driver, "parada del boos para San Isidro" (phonetic spelling here!). If the cab driver doesn't know or understand where that is show him the following:
Estaciones para los buses de San Isidro
Calle 16 y Avenida 1 y 3
Enfrente la estacion, Coca Cola
Two of the three companies' names are Musac Bus Company and TuraSur Bus Company. Once at the bus company, buy a ticket to San Isidro in order to reserve a seat. The cost of the ticket is around 800 colones ($2.50). The bus leaving at 9:30 AM will get you down to San Isidro at around 12:30pm. Once you arrive at the San Isidro terminal, flag down one of the many cabs and ask for "parada del buses para Playa Dominical," it should cost no more than 200 colones and takes 5 minutes to get there. At the Dominical Bus station, buy a ticket for the 1:30 PM bus to Dominical. This bus will get you into Dominical by 3:00pm. If you should arrive on a later bus from San Jose & you miss the 1:30pm bus, the next one leaves from San Isidro at 4 PM, arriving in Dominical at 5:15pm.
When the bus pulls into Dominical the first stop will be just after the soccer field and there waiting for you will be the owner of the school, Vern, who is the spitting image of Willie Nelson, possibly a bit more handsome. If Vern should not happen to be there waiting for you, don't worry, there are three businesses right at the bus stop that can direct you to Vern's Dominical intensive Spanish school: South Coast Realty office; Soda Laura restaurant and market or restaurant San Clemente. The school is in the midst of a major expansion program, so it is possible that Vern might be busy. It is always best to call the school and let them know what time you will likely be coming into town. This way they can have everything ready for you when you arrive, including Vern himself as your guide. The number for the school's office is 787-0103, if you would like to fax, the number is 787-0090.
Directions to ISLS House
After you have gone through Immigration and Customs, you will walk up stairs that will lead you out of the terminal. At the top of the stairs, just before the exit, is a small National Bank of Costa Rica window, stop and exchange some money there, maybe $100. Once you walk through the exit door to the outside, there will be people there who will want to take your bags to a Taxi, look for a 'Taxi Unidos' driver and tell him "Quiro un taxi, por favor" then show him the following note in Spanish. (Taxi into San Jose should cost $12.)
Senor taxista: Traigame por favor al pension ISLS,
Calle 24, dos cincuenta metros norte Mercedes Bens,
Apartmento color CafÈ con tres plantas. Gracias.
The ISLS house is on the second floor, apartment #3. If for some reason there is no one at the ISLS house, there is a soda across the street that is run by Anna and Jose. They have keys with them to make sure students can get in if there is no one at the house. Once you arrive at the ISLS house you will be taken to your bed and given a set of keys to the place. You will be told what is available such as the kitchen and the living room. The next morning, you are going to want to get up and be out of the house by 8:00am in order to reach the bus on time. The Coca-Cola bus terminal is only two blocks away from the house.
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