Today, my riding buddy, Robert, and I traversed the San Isidro and Altos de Naranjo neighborhoods of Atenas to go to La Zopilota, a lookout point on this mountain range.
It was thrilling to go up and up and up and up through these little towns.
The last part is pretty steep, with two tight curves towards the top, but it is all concrete and asphalt.
The vistas above were fabulous.
At the top is a narrow cement road with drop offs on both sides.
Below is a photo I stole from a YouTube video to give you a sense of it. I appreciated that the municipality had made the investment of making it concrete.
La Zopilota (The Vulture) is a big rock, perhaps named so because it sits on top and overlooks all the areas below.
Robert did not want to continue because the road was wet, but I convinced him that it was easier to go on ahead to Pata de Gallo, since we were already at the top, rather than back down. 🙂 Glad he agreed!
The road to Pata de Gallo is part gravel, part cement, and part asphalt. It is an easy descent.
We went through Pata de Gallo to Route 713, through Llano Brenes to San Ramón, then over to Caldera for breakfast.
Then we decided to go to Tivives beach. I only took a photo of the plastic garbage, because I have so many photos of the beach, driftwood, and bluff. I collected some of the plastic to see if I get inspired to do a mosaic art piece with it someday.
After a few minutes of quiet and of enjoying the atmosphere, we headed home via Cascajal and La Ceiba. While on these, I was thinking of how PEACE-full it is to ride on easy gravel roads! So much better than any asphalt road.
Yes. It was a short, morning ride, but fun, as usual. Now, we have a new route to take to Atenas from San Ramón. 🙂 I look forward to doing this at a later hour, from the other direction. I also want to go right at La Zopilota to head over to the Santiago area. It looks like it is a populated area. Never been. Can’t wait to keep exploring!
RIDING IN COSTA RICA: FEEL THE BEAUTY. KNOW THE LOVE. LIVE THE POWER.
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Wikiloc: La Zopilota to Caldera
Riding in Costa Rica 
Looks beautiful out there !
Thanks for sharing !
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