Today I’m hitting the road and looking forward to my all-time favorite drive in Costa Rica: the route from Cañas to Bijagua. This route, which narrowly edges out the drive up to the top of Irazú because it’s so smooth and easy, barrels through extraordinarily scenic rolling pastures with Volcán Miravalles off to the left and Volcán Tenorio to the right. I once hit it right at the golden hour before sunset and drove along in a kind of trance.

Driving in Costa Rica gets a deservedly bad rap, but there are some spectacular and very manageable stretches of road, all the more enjoyable once you’ve gotten used to the crowded chaos and potholed travesties that reign supreme all too often. What’s your favorite Costa Rican drive or bus ride?

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! Each month in 2020 has a monthly theme, and February’s is marriage equality, so scroll back through the month to see several posts highlighting people and organizations working on behalf of this issue in Costa Rica.