I suppose that most people now know that the roads are being improved in the Monteverde area.

From St.Elena to Monteverde , they are being graded and then asphalted.

Within the town of Monteverde, construction is going on to pave the local roads.

Next year then want to pave the 40 Kilometer stretch from the Inter American Highway to Monteverde.....

Needless to say not everyone is happy.

So for those planning a holliday in late 2005, you may well be driving no much improved roads.

Just got all this low down from a Tour Guide in the Monteverde, Guanacaste area.

He had to visit his family in Kelowna British Columbia Canada...and I just got off the phone talking to him.

So he gave me the latest news of the Pacific Northwest area of Costa Rica, but I thought some people might want to know that road improvement are going on now in Monteverde.

Percy

Percy, was your tour guide friend unhappy about the improvements to the roads? I know many people don't like the "progress" that has been made at Monteverde and the changes that are involved when an area is made more accessible to more people. I've heard many say that, for them, Monteverde has lost some of its appeal due to increased numbers of visitors. Unfortunately, this is true for all of Costa Rica. The country is going to have to be very careful with many of the decisions they make in the near and distant future. Catch 22. The proposed dam that will affect the Rio Pacuare so drastically concerns me, also.

Hi shillmac

well,I did not specifically ask him what his personal view is on the Monteverde road "improvement".

However I will be talking to him again in a few days as he is here until October 29th.

The Mayor of Monteverde is happy about the local roads in Monteverde being finally improved.

What the main concern is , that if you pave that 40 Kilometer stretch from the Highway into Monteverde, not only will it increase the traffic volume greatly but there will also be damage to the ecosystem.

I think the one thing that sort of prevents or at least makes people think twice about going to Monteverde is the road.....once this obstacle is removed ,it could become a little "Yellowstone Park."

The government and the locals will have to determine their own destiny.

I hope the government does a better job than they did with Barcelo in Playa Tambor!!! in 1992.

I have seen pictures of the road around Monteverde when it rains and I can only say.."My Goodness."

Oh yes,the tour guide said that our e-mail in Canada is 10 times faster than his in Costa Rica.!!!!

Michael(Tour Guide) sent me an e-mail about a week ago and told me he was from Canada..I though to myself, okay, thats nice and did not think more about it until I turned on my computer this afternoon and here was an e-mail from Kelowna , British Columbia.!!!

It was from Michael ,telling me he was here on an "unscheduled family related trip."

I will pass along more relevant news should I receive it from him.

Good Night

Percy

Thanks for the info Percy. I had heard rumors but didn't know for sure. I hate to see it paved. I think it will loose so much of its charm. Glad I got to see it before. I have only been back to Manuel Antonio once since they paved that road. Guess it is time for me to move on once again to less traveled areas. We have already looked at a little of Nicaragua and this year we are heading down to Panama for most of our trip. The only place we will be staying in CR this year is Bosque del Cabo and a friends house just outside of San Jose.

I just hope that we can still find a community with few North Americans. We have ties to CR going back to the 60's. My father in law was on the board of directors of La Selva. My husband is hoping to be able to take some classes there soon. Hopefully that area won't get built up any more than it is.

It's not limited to Monteverde for this thread, however, the website huecos.com shows humorous holes in the roads of CR!!

TripleSecDelay

Thanks for the website.
I saw those pictures, quite humerous!

Well for those that want to go to Monteverde on the very bumpy pot hole road ..then go within the next 18 months.

I am going to find out what the tour guides think of this...those people that have to drive these road everyday.

Percy

Percy, keep me posted about those roads. I am the one who wants to get off the cruise ship from Puntarenas to Monteverde for the day- in April.
I can see both sides after being in Manuel Antonio. A paved road there-much traffic on it,but it does destroy the quietness of the place. Then who wants to travel those potholes. especially in the Green Season.