CASA MERCURIO IS CLOSED

10 second version

This is the summary version. Get to San Isidro de El General, Costa Rica. Take the bus for San Ramon, get off at Arizona. Walk 200m forward, take the driveway 100m before the pulperia (small shop). Stay to the right on the driveway, yellow house with green trim. For vast amounts of detail, read onwards…

Get to San Isidro

We’re just outside the town of San Isidro de el General. There are good bus connections to San Isidro from other places in Costa Rica.

The bus from San Jose takes 3-4 hours, runs almost every hour, and is run by a company called Musoc. See the bus times page for more info. If you arrive in San Isidro on the Musoc bus, you need to change bus stations to get the local bus. The Musoc bus station is set back from the Panamerican Highway. Walk out to to the main road and turn right. Walk 2 blocks to the McDonalds. Turn right and walk straight. 2 blocks past Parque Central (the town square), you’ll find the local bus station on your right.

Bus

From San Isidro, there is a local bus that will bring you to our driveway. Take the bus for San Ramon. Ask the bus driver to get off at Arizona. The bus fare increases by about 50% at the next stop, our driveway is between the two, so Arizona is the best stop to get off. Continue on the road for about 200m to our driveway.

Taxi

A taxi from San Isidro costs about 2′500 colones (approximately $5 USD), maybe 3’500 ($7 USD) at the absolute most. You can tell the taxi you want the road to San Ramon, just after the road for Arizona. Then follow the directions above to find our driveway. If the gate is open, a taxi can drive right down to the house. If the gate is locked, there is space for a person to squeeze through the fence, next to the gate.

You can tell the taxi this in Spanish “Cien metros después de la entrada a Arizona en la carretera a San Ramón Norte”.

Driving / walking directions

If you’re feeling brave and want to head over here solo, please do. The easiest starting point is Parque Central (the central square) next to the cathedral in downtown San Isidro. If you come in from Dominical, the road will eventually lead you to the Cathedral. From the Dominical road, you’ll need to go around the cathedral because it’s a one way system. If you’re coming from the north or south on the Pan American highway, turn at the sign for San Isidro Centro, that will put you on the correct side of the square.

Usually there is a line of taxis waiting on one side of the square. If you have your back to the cathedral, standing in the square, the taxis are on your right hand side. All sides of the square are one way streets. If you leave the square, in the direction the taxis are facing, you’ll be on the right road. You’ll pass 2 Fereterias (hardware shops) opposite each other, 1.5 blocks from the square. As the hill gets steep, turn right. Go 2 blocks then you’ll meet a T in the road, turn left up a short hill to a cross roads. Go straight over, and follow that road straight.

As you pass a football pitch on your right you’ll go over two speed bumps, the only ones on your drive. Take the next right. There is a sign just before the turn for Hotel Papa Paramo. Now you’re on the road to Casa Mercurio. The next landmark is a shop on the right hand side, with a red Pipasa sign, called Mini Super El Dorado. Our driveway is 100m before that, on the left hand side.

Our driveway

When you see the pulperia, a shop on the right hand side of the road with a red Pipasa sign, called Mini Super El Dorado, you’re almost here. Maybe 100m before the shop, on the left hand side of the road, is our driveway.

The driveway splits into 2 from the road. Stay to the right. You’ll go through a gate. If it’s locked, there’s space for a person to squeeze around to the left. Follow the driveway down the hill, past the finca (farm house) and around to the left. You’ll see 4 houses in amongst trees.We’re the one in the middle, painted yellow with green trim.

If you arrive and we’re not home, please make yourselves as comfortable as you can and we hope to see you soon.

Maps

Here’s a very, very basic, not to scale, out of proportion map to help visualise the directions.

Here’s a Google map of our front porch, according to my GPS device. Click here to open in a new window. For the freedom focused, here’s an OpenStreetMap link, although it’s missing quite a few of the roads round here.