Waterfalls over Zurqui mountain
After Columbus landed in Limon in 1502 and the Spanish returned to try to claim more newly “discovered” lands, the BriBri indigenous people were able to fend off the would-be conquerors. The Spaniards had to find their way around the Cape Horn at the tip of South America and come back across these mountains from the Pacific side in 1565. Today, as then, the route between Limon and the Central Valley is rugged. From San Jose to the Caribbean coast, you have to pass through densely rainforested mountains that are so tall they are usually blanketed in clouds.
Cerro Chirripó is not far away, and at 12,500 feet, is the tallest mountain in Costa Rica. Either coming or going from Limon, you'll want to be through the Zurqui pass before dark, which happens very early every day in Costa Rica. Being just above the Equator, the sun rises every morning before 6 am and sets before 6 pm. These were taken at about noon on Jan. 1, 2018, an amazingly bright, sunny day. The mountain is usually completely foggy and cool as you drive through the clouds but since the sun was out, several people stopped to admire the sunny views. There are not many places to stop and admire scenery as giant tour buses and banana trucks are coming and going fast in both directions on the curving, narrow road. I spotted at least 10 waterfalls this time and photographed as many as I could (from a moving car with foggy windows).
"The word Zurquí is of indigenous origin and derives from the word Supi, which was the name by which a river was known to descend from this hill. In pre-Columbian times, the slopes of the Zurquí hill were inhabited by the Térraba people, who after the conquest were transported by the Spaniards to the southern part of the country. In times of the Conquest, the place was known as Churquín, Yurquín or Yorquín. In the Térraba language, “chur” or “yur” means “slope”. The Bribri people, meanwhile, knew Zurquí as Choli, a word that relates it to the idea of a fountain or eye of water." Translated from Spanish Wikipedia, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_Zurqui