A place on earth called Turrialba

The small town of Turrialba is located in the Province of Cartago. About 35.618 Ticos live here.

Turrialba's main industries are textiles, agriculture and tourism. Up until 30 years ago Turrialba was a small thriving trading town. This was due to the train route for coffee shipments from San José to the Pacific Coast running past the town.

Ever since the route got abandoned in favour of a less curvy and winding one, the town has been fighting to find alternative sources of income and is working on expanding tourism.

Turrialba has good conditions: There is an active volcano nearby as well as an enchanted Aztec city. They produce cheese which is popular with Ticos and the rapids in the rivers Reventazón and Pacuare are perfect for rafting.

There is a pretty large variety of sports activities that are offered, including horse riding, cycling around the CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education) as well as canoeing and zip-lining between a waterfall and a hanging bridge.

The people here also offer coffee tours or visits to the La Marta Wildlife Refuges. You can also visit the national monument Guayabo. So there is certainly no shortage of cultural and active leisure opportunities. The people living here also enjoy participating in the activities offered in town.

For instance in the past we have played badminton or done water gymnastics with our host families after finishing our Spanish course in the afternoon. Another plus is the university nearby which makes it easy to get in touch with students and peers and make friends.

Find more information about Turrialba and other exciting blog posts here, on my dear friend Helena's blog.