The mountains of the south of San José were quite unknown to us until recently, and we realized that it is a place with a very high number of trails that join and mix together creating an adventure network.

How to get there? Arrive at the Poás de Aserrí bus terminal, go up to 4km to the Poás river, then go up the gravel road (4 × 4), go up 1 km and turn right on Vigas street, going up to 400m to the farm.

Vehicle: Every vehicle, preferably high, because there is a gravel road. If you go by car, you can leave it lower before arriving at the farm.

What to bring? Clothing and comfortable shoes for walking, beverages for staying hydrated, snacks and waterproof jacket.

Distance: 5 km in total (2.5 km one way and 2.5 km back) Difficulty: Medium, quite broken terrain, and some steep parts. Time: 4 hours approx. Parking: Yes Pets: Yes Contact: Allan 7107-6435 Cost: ¢ 10000 per person with breakfast or lunch included. Camping: ¢ 2000 per person camping night.

For this trip, Allan contacted us and told us that he had known the area for years and that he lived in the heart of the mountain.

Arriving was not so difficult, only the last 100 m of the road were difficult, after this we arrived at a ranch like those typically used for parties where they waited for us with a tamale to have for breakfast.

After exchanging words with Allan's family for a little bit we decided to start our walk and digest the tamale. Among all the destinations that can be visited from this point, we decided to go to La Piedra del Minero because it w.as about 5 km total and we wanted to see a bit of the area. What really happened is that we were hyped with a desire to see even more.

The journey was down a path that goes along the edge of the mountain between farms to reach a giant stone to climb and reach the top, from where you can see the best view, but you have to pass a kind of "bridge" that it was actually a half-withered log that connects two giant stones. Tavo and Glori crossed it to see similar sightings. I did not go up for security reasons (I do not know what fear is), in case one of them fell down to be able to call the Red Cross.

Then when they came down we waited for them under the same stone, in a kind of cave where you could see the marks of attempts to find gold. And this myth is no joke since there are stones with gold in this whole area, but the great majority call this silly gold because it is not real.

Here we decided to eat our snacks and have a mini picnic to get strength for the slope that we were going to have to hike on the way back.

When we reached the top, which was just in time, we sat down at the ranch and a real downpour started. Once again we sat at the ranch and Allan's mother had typical rice with chicken and ground beans, so good. And off we went.

DATE OF THE WALK - June 2016